JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Azure Horizons
by Jawshua
Summary: April, 1999. Morioh has been struck by a massive earthquake that has left its citizens in shock. Many people have died, and some have even gone missing; two of these missing citizens are Josuke Kujo and Koichi Hirose. Without knowing where they could possibly be, can the town ever find what they have lost? And are the mysterious Wall-Eyes connected to their disappearances?
1. Prologue

Morioh – what a quaint little town. Most citizens outside of it would often call it boring compared to to the larger cities in Japan, such as Tokyo and Osaka. No, this town was different, but it was a subtle difference that would only linger over your shoulder if you took the time to try and discover what the people are like, what the air feels like, how clean the water is. It's a difference that would have you wanting more once you return home from your lengthy vacation.

It had several family owned businesses, a moderately sized school which was a combination of a middle school and a high school. It was as normal and quiet as it could get, but there was always something different that came with each day, it was always something else whether it was sweet or bitter. The town practically seemed to be a living contradiction.

But this story is about the bittersweet, not one or the other. It involves a high school student named Josuke Kujo and his best friend, Koichi Hirose. It is their struggle to discover just who they really are, and what it means to be alive in the modern world – but do not confuse this with a typical story of the reckless youth.

That story was told ten years ago, in 1989, Florida. The year is 1999, and the blood running through Josuke Kujo has ultimately determined his fate – The blood of the Joestar's determines he will fight for something in his life, but he does not know what this is just yet.

On the horizon is something that the town of Morioh could not even expect. Fate deemed it fit for Josuke Kujo to face the challenges of his youth, no matter how cruel or harsh that they may seem to an ordinary person.

Josuke Kujo, for the most part, lived a normal life. If things were to change drastically, he would not reject it, but he would certainly be thrown off since nothing ever changed. His father, Jomei Kujo, had worked a normal, boring office job that brought in a decent income for the family. Truth be told, he had not bonded with his father very often, though he would tell himself every now and then that he would shape up and become a good son that his father could be proud of.

His mother, Tomoko Kujo, worked as a cook at one of the family own restaurants. Truly, this was the most normal life and family that Josuke Kujo could possibly ever wish for. He would spend his days talking with his friends.

Koichi and Yuina Hirose were his closest friends, each of them spending their high school afternoons talking and goofing off. It was the most mundane thing in the world for high school students to do stupid things, but it still made Josuke Kujo feel like he was the luckiest kid on the planet.

But normality is soon challenged, coming to an end not too long after. He would soon enter into a battle that would make him question all that he once thought was good for him, not knowing what he should do with fear dragging him down into the abyss of his mind with every single wrong turn he made.

This is the story of faith versus misanthropy.


	2. Dysphoria

Darkness and uncomfortable silence choked the small town of Morioh. It was strangely warm for a Spring evening, but no one would complain – well, why would anyone complain about something so trivial? Just two weeks ago an earthquake shook Japan to its very core, leaving strange stone walls in its wake. They each had several strange vertical lines carved into them, with a dot on each end. The people of Morioh had dubbed them 'Wall Eyes'.

Day in and day out, Morioh's citizens banded together and attempted to turn their precious town into a safe haven, just how it used to be. Several homes had been destroyed during the earthquake, and some of the Wall Eyes even tore through the streets, some citizens even believing that they had been caused by alien life forms.

The landscape was deemed unfit and unsafe for any minor or citizen to travel into, but that did not stop a select few from helping their fellow man and woman. Steep cliffs, gorges, and many more dangerous formations had appeared. It would be rather easy to slip and fall in this town if you were not careful, but even more so if you disregarded the warnings that the local police had issued.

Far away from where Morioh's police force would be upholding security was a cluster of dirt and rick, oddly lumped together. Not too far from this cluster was Yuina Hirose, who had managed to sneak past the officers by climbing a hill several meters away from the police tape.

She had changed into a tanktop and a pair of gym shorts so she would not dirty her school uniform, and her blonde hair had been tied into a bun. However, despite this, she was sure that if she was seen by any of the authorities she would catch an earful from her mother.

Josuke Kujo and Koichi Hirose had gone missing, however, and her entire family was on edge. The Kujo family had searched desperately for their child over the past three days, but it seemed to be no use.

Yuina Hirose had managed to find a bundle of boulders that had been pushed together, though she felt her face turn pale as her hands started to shake. She looked downward to see a dirtied hand clawing at the soil desperately, nearly causing her to scream.

"C-come on, Coyote Theory." Yuina murmured to herself as a hot pink aura shot up around her body, a normal ink pen phasing into her left hand. Her pen stroked the air quickly yet smoothly, the tremble in her small, slender frame soon ceasing.

In front of her stood a black figure with rippling muscles, its hands stretching towards the heavy boulders that had crushed the citizen underneath. A minute had passed before it managed to pull away every single piece of rubble, the shadowed figure fading away now that its job had been completed.

"Wait… Josuke?" Yuina bent down on her knees to obtain a better look of the young man, though she noticed that he was completely naked. His usually well groomed pompadour had been ruffled, and he seemed a few inches shorter. "Where's Koichi? What the heck is going on here?!"

She struggled to pull him onto the softer soil, but her efforts proved to be successful. Yuina examined his body, slapping his face once or twice which yielded zero results.

"WE'VE FOUND A BODY!"

Yuina yelped once she heard the male digger scream his discovery, the sound of footsteps pattering against the ground. She looked over, though she could not completely make it out as one of the massive stone walls just barely cut out the image of the workers.

Josuke's eyes flickered open, though he could barely force himself to speak. His throat was dry, and he could not force himself to sit up. Just how long had he been buried under those boulders, and how could he have possibly survived?

"Where… the hell am I?" He coughed, causing Yuina to look back at him. His deep green eyes shifted towards her. "Who the fuck are you… and…"

Josuke coughed violently as he attempted to speak, but this only caused the young woman to help him up. She grunted as she steadily walked towards the site where they had a found a body, but the workers had grown strangely quiet.

"KOICHI!" Yuina froze when she heard a familiar voice scream her older brother's name – that was her mother, she was sure of that.

She continued to move forward, though she felt a lump form in her throat once she saw exactly why her mother had been screaming and she understood almost immediately.

Koichi Hirose's dirtied corpse was laid on a tarp, several of the volunteers standing clear of his mourning mother who had fallen to her knees on the cold, unforgiving earth. Yuina tried her best not to scream, but she bit down on her lip as tears started to roll down her cheeks.

"Koichi…"

* * *

Two days had passed since that night, and the curious though worried Yuina Hirose had made her way over to Morioh's hospital to check up on Josuke Kujo's condition.

Yuina Hirose walked side by side with a doctor that had been telling her of Josuke Kujo's odd predicament.

"Wait, you're saying he has two tongues, two irises, and four… well, y'know… but, are you serious Doctor Kiyoshi?" Yuina asked, and the elderly man merely nodded before stopping in the middle of the hallway. "You sure you're not just seeing things?"

"You can ask him yourself, if you want to." Kiyoshi told her before yawning into his sleeve. "We haven't received any tests from Koichi Hirose's autopsy, but I will tell you or your mother when we find out what the cause of death was. I'm very sorry for your loss, Yuina."

"It's… well, we'll manage." Yuina shot him a forced smile, though the doctor merely gave her a pat on the back before opening the door to Josuke Kujo's room. "Here we are, then. I'll come back in around five minutes."

Yuina nodded and closed the door behind her after walking in, looking towards Josuke who had been sitting on his bed. He had been dressed in a basic hospital gown, his hair styled in a fringed pompadour. She guessed that he had asked for a hair comb or something of the sort.

"H-hey, Josuke. Are you feeling alright?" Yuina asked before slipping onto the bed, her hands close to her abdomen. Josuke remained silent. "Are… uh… Josuke, are you okay?"

"Don't call me that." Josuke said sharply, shooting a glare at Yuina. "That's not my name. Is it? I can't remember. Who the fuck are you, anyway?"

"I'm Yuina, don't you remember me?" Yuina asked softly, inching away from the teenager slowly but steadily. "Uh… why are you so angry, right now?"

"This lady came in about ten minutes ago, screaming at me. Kept telling me that I should have died and not her precious son." Josuke's loud voice soon turned into a mutter. "Did I do something wrong? If I did, I sure as hell can't remember and that lady wouldn't stop telling me that I'm a liar. I'm not lying, how the fuck am I supposed to lie when I can't remember jack shit?!"

"Hey, it's fine, I believe you." Yuina frowned, though she remained seated instead of giving him a comforting touch on the shoulder. He seemed far too on edge and he probably would have slapped her hand away if she did such a thing. "That was my mom, I'm really sorry about that."

"Your mom, huh? Someone claiming that they're my mom came in earlier…" Josuke blinked, running one of his pale hands through his hair. "Said my dad was at work or something. This is, uh… I don't know how I'm supposed to take all of this."

"I wish I knew how to help, Jo… uh, what _should_ I call you?" Yuina rubbed her chin as she searched her mind for a name he might like. "What about… Joji? Joji Kujo sounds nice, it's short and sweet."

"Joji Kujo…" The man murmured, though he merely extended his hand towards Yuina who seemed rather confused. "I like that name! Nice to meet you, I'm Joji Kujo from this point on."

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Yuina Hirose!" She shook his hand firmly, a small smile emerging from the male teenager's lips. "I got you to smile. So are we still friends or what?"

"You're nice, I wouldn't mind being your friend." Joji's smile grew slightly wider, though a question crossed his mind. "Did we hang out a lot before all of this shit happened? I can't really remember."

"We were friends, but we never really knew each other too well. I'd hang out with you and Koichi after school sometimes, so we got along pretty well." Yuina smiled as she reminisced. "I hope you don't mind me asking this, but… do you have… how do I put this? Like, a power or anything?"

"A power?" Joji blinked, though just before Yuina waved her question off, a strange figure materialized by his bedside. "You mean this thing?"

Its body was a dark green color and rather muscular, standing at the tall height of six feet. Its face had been guarded by a plain yellow mask, only its violet eyes and mouth had not been covered. On its back, it had a long snake-like tail extending outward a foot or two, and its shoulders seemed to have wheels spinning on them. On its abdomen was a large yellow X as well.

"That's a Stand, you and your dad had one…" Yuina pressed a finger to her bottom lip as she examined it. "It… isn't what it used to look like. It looks really familiar, now that I think about it."

"Wait, hold your horses, can you tell me what the fuck a Stand is?" Joji asked as the figure phased out of the air.

"A Stand is, well… with the way your dad put it, it's supposed to be an extension of your soul or something like that. They 'stand by' you, protecting you when you need it." Yuina informed him, an ordinary ink pen materializing in her hand. "Only Stand users can see Stands, and this is mine, Coyote Theory. As you can see, not all of them look the same and each of them have different abilities… but I wouldn't try to test yours until you get out of the hospital. I can draw anything with mine and it'll come to life!"

"I see. That's really fucking cool!" Joji grinned, his spirits seemingly lifted. "Well, thanks for telling me about this shit. Did the doctor tell you when I'm supposed to get the fuck out of here?"

"He'll probably tell you when he gets back… but, while we're talking about Stands, why don't we name yours?" Yuina suggested with a playful smirk. "What about something like… Crazy Diamond? That was the name of Josuke's Stand."

"I want something that's only mine, though." Joji told her, which resulted in an understanding nod. His face suddenly beamed. "Oh shit, I got it! What about Philosopher King? That sounds fucking rad!"

"That sounds perfect!" Yuina clapped happily, admittedly proud of herself since had managed to successfully brighten the man's spirit. "Did you wanna talk about anything else? I have about ten minutes before I have to go run to work."

"Uh, let's see…"

* * *

Yoshikage Kagerou had to lean downward just a tad bit due to his massive height of six feet and four inches just to see his face in the bathroom mirror. He had off-center, neat and trimmed auburn hair with the sides of it shaved down. His emerald green eyes were rather sharp, and it seemed like he had been pouting. His face was clear of any facial hair, as well. He dressed in a dark blue suit which had been made from silk, the right sleeve having a fancy watch wrapped over it. He wore a sterling silver band on the middle finger of his left hand, having what seemed to be the face of a cat in it. His skin was slightly tan as well, his pocket square tie dangling above his abdomen.

He had worked in an ordinary office job, and he was determined to be employee of the month again in April. It was the twenty third and there was no way in hell that he would come in second place, though he was not too worried that anyone would beat him to it. He earned every promotion that his co-workers had thought impossible and then some more, leaving many of them to sulk and remain jealous of his status.

There was a knock at the door, prompting Yoshikage Kagerou to calmly walk towards it before slowly opening it. In front of him had been a portly man, the top of his head mostly bald aside from a few strands of brown hair poking out.

"You've been in here for ten minutes now Yoshikage, are you alright? We need you to get back to work as soon as possible." He informed him, which resulted in a bow from Yoshikage.

"Yes, sir. I'm sorry, sir, it will not happen again." Yoshikage Kagerou stood back up before making his way back to his cubicle. Truth be told, he did not have much work left to do aside from sending emails, but he found joy in out-performing every other employee that attempted to defeat him. "I'll have the day's work done before the hour ends, I can promise that."

Yoshikage Kagerou typed away at his designated computer at a rapid speed, his calm eyes analyzing every single line that he wrote out onto the blank document. While most people would find this line of work boring, he found it to be absolutely exhilarating.

He was completely right, too – he had easily finished his designated task in ten minutes, at least half an hour before the clock would strike noon. He shut down his computer and gathered his suitcase which he had placed under his desk, his feet soon pacing towards the exit.

"Oof!" Yoshikage felt his body nearly fall over from a sudden impact, though he luckily managed to catch his balance before he fell flat on the floor. "Watch where you're going!"

Jomei Kujo merely nodded, though he stared deep into Yoshikage Kagerou's eyes with a slight hint of resentment. The slightly older man had been wearing an ordinary suit for his office job, his gray eyes focusing in on Yoshikage's emeralds.

Jomei Kujo brushed his jet black hair out of his face, rubbing his boxed beard for a moment before sighing deeply. "Neither of us were paying attention, so let's just agree that we're both at fault here and apologize, alright? I'm sorry."

"What, and agree with someone like you?" Yoshikage snickered before moving away from the clearly irritated Jomei. "Do me a favor and don't talk to me in public, Kujo. I don't want to be seen with a worm."

"Yeah, whatever." Jomei rolled his eyes and made his way towards his desk, rubbing his head before he groaned quietly. "Fucking asshole."

* * *

The very next morning, Yuina Hirose opened up the door to Joji Kujo's hospital room, the boy staring into space until he heard the door near his bed slam shut – his head turned towards Yuina, though the look on his face was not happy, it seemed more curious than anything else.

"Hey, Joji!" She greeted him happily, though he did not respond to that name. "Uh, Joji? Are you alright?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry, I kind of forgot that that's my name now." Joji laughed forcefully, sighing afterward. "It's kind of hard to remember when that Tomoko lady claiming to be my mom keeps calling me Josuke every time she stops by, she wouldn't even listen to a word I was saying."

Yuina frowned, running a hand along his back comfortingly. "I'm sorry, I'm sure she'll accept it sooner or later. Has anyone else come down to see you?"

"Nope, only her and the doctor has bothered to check up on me so far." Joji smiled sadly as he spoke to her. "Aside from that, something else has been on my mind, lately. What's all this talk about an earthquake?"

"You really don't remember? Morioh was hit with an earthquake a few days ago, that's where you and my brother went missing." Yuina informed him, placing a finger on her chin. "A few people died and a lot of homes were destroyed, but the strangest part is that these strange walls just came out of no where after it was over."

"Strange walls… I think, when you saved me, there was something like that near us? I can't really remember that night too clearly." Joji said, wracking his brain. "That only makes me wonder even more shit… I apparently have four balls, I have two tongues that are fused together, I'm shorter than I used to be…"

Yuina's eyes locked onto Joji's.. "I heard about the autopsy from my mom this morning, apparently everything was fine except… y'know. Joji, doesn't that bother you at all?"

"Not really. Isn't it normal that I have four balls?" Joji asked, tilting his head in confusion. "You ask really weird questions."

"I don't want to sound crazy, but… well, never mind. I'm probably just making no sense at this point." Yuina added, though she merely shook her head afterward. "Sorry about that."

"Sounds like you were interested in the fact that I have four balls." Joji said, sighing deeply. "If I'm not supposed to have four, this makes no goddamn sense. Either way, I'm not willing to believe anything until the doctor tells me otherwise – hell, it's hard to trust any of the people in this place when you can't remember shit, you've only talked to a handful of people, and you're stuck in fuckingthis room for hours on end!"

"I guess I would be acting the same way, talking about this is only making my head hurt." Yuina admitted with a shrug. "What's the last thing that happened to you that you can recall, Joji?"

"I remember waking up and looking at you before I passed out." Joji answered her. "I don't know what I was doing before I fell asleep, hell… I don't even remember who the fuck I was! Fucking hell, I just want to get out of this room, I don't even know anything about this goddamn town we're in!"

"Joji, calm down!" Yuina argued, placing her hands on both of his shoulders firmly. "I can't say I understand how you feel right now, but if you don't get ahold of yourself, you'll just end up feeling even worse!"

"Fine, fine, I get it." Joji nodded, groaning as he ran his hands down his face. "Goddamn it, when the fuck am I supposed to get out of here, though?"

Suddenly, the door to the hospital room opened to reveal Doctor Kiyoshi standing in the doorway, his hand motioning for Joji to come forward.

"Josuke Kujo, your mother is here to pick you up." Kiyoshi told him much to his relief, the young teenager making his way towards the exit. "You too, Yuina. Come on."

"Yes, doctor."

* * *

Joji felt discomfort when he first stepped into the light of Morioh, which only grew when he was forced to say goodbye to Yuina for the day.

The ride home was excruciatingly quiet and awkward for the mother and son, the latter frequently staring down at his feet or out the window so he could avoid potential eye contact with this unfamiliar woman.

However, the world outside was just as unfamiliar – he truly recognized none of it. He swore he had never seen any of the people that they had come across, though they waved nonetheless, as if they knew who he was. This made him grow just a bit unsettled.

His mother, Tomoko Kujo, showed him to his room once they had arrived what he was told was his house – it was more than what he had expected. It was a decently sized room with a bed that had room for a single person, a television in the corner with some sort of game system hooked into it, the walls were a cerulean color and there had been a window with the blinds drawn over it on the wall to the right of his bed.

Joji sat on his bed for what felt like an eternity, but only two or three hours had passed. He could not shake this feeling, it was as if he was an alien trapped in an unfamiliar, hostile world. He did not even know if he could trust this person that called him his mother – he did not even bother to eat when she slipped a hot plate of food into his room.

His attention was brought to his front door once he heard the hinges squeak, noticing that a man standing at the enormous height of six feet and five inches had been standing in the entrance with his arms crossed. His eyes were a dull gray and his hair was jet black, sharing the same color as his boxed beard. He wore a white trench coat that had a black arrow on each shoulder, stretching down each sleeve. Underneath his coat, he wore a violet t-shirt with a flat, golden palm on the chest, which is combined with his set of white dress pants that are held up by a leather belt, its buckle resembling a golden J.

"Hey, son." Jomei Kujo said softly, stepping towards his bed carefully. "Your mother told me about what's going on, but I figured I'd have to be a bit more understanding… what's the name you're asking to go by now? Joji?"

Joji blinked, somewhat surprised by this man's calm demeanor. "Are you supposed to be my father? Don't call me son, I've never seen you in my entire life… and yeah, you better call me Joji. That lady keeps calling me Josuke, it bothers the fuck out of me."

Jomei frowned before bending downward, picking the now cold plate of food off of his floor. "Do you want me to go heat this up for you, Joji? Tomoko told me that you hadn't eaten yet."

"I'm not hungry." Joji claimed. "What do you want, anyway? It's hard to think when no one will leave me alone."

"I at least thought that someone could at least try to help you carry that weight that's on your shoulders." Jomei stated, shooting a small smile his way. "If you feel up to it, your school uniform is clean so you can try it on, maybe it'd help you feel a little better – and, maybe, if you want to… you can start going to school again. I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay cooped up in this room after what happened. So, what about it?"

Joji was almost astounded by the warm kindness that this stranger had offered him – though, maybe it made sense. Maybe he truly was his father, but he could not help but feel a sense of unease, like he knew that he would never be able to remember the memories they once shared but despite this, even if Jomei Kujo knew this, he was attempting to treat this stranger like he would his own son.

"Uh, sure." Joji agreed and pulled himself off from his bed, stepping towards the gigantic, broad-shouldered man. "What's your name?"

"My name is Jomei Kujo, but you can just call me Jomei if you don't like formalities. Nice to meet you, Joji." Jomei grinned and extended his hand, sighing with relief once Joji met his request to shake it. "Alright, I'll go ahead and show you to the bathroom so you can change there. I hope you'll like your uniform!"

* * *

Joji was rather surprised by his high school uniform, as it was something that he had been attracted to right from the moment he spotted it. He stepped in front of the mirror, smirking at how well the uniform fit his slim body.

The young teenager had styled his jet black hair into a fringed pompadour, though his eyes were rather odd - the left side was half-violet, and the other was half-dark blue. His dark purple school uniform had been modified to his liking as well. There were golden stars where buttons should have been, and on each shoulder was a single golden emblem that resembled a clenched fist. On the chest of the uniform was the word 'SHINE' also in golden letters. His pants shared the same dark purple color, the kneecaps having two emblems that resembled two golden wings that had been spread out.

"This is perfect!" Joji remarked, clapping his hands together before marching out of the bathroom to see Jomei standing outside. "This is fucking awesome, are you sure I can keep this?!"

"It belongs to you, so there's no need to ask me." Jomei informed him, staring down at his watch. "Oh, it's almost six… it's getting a little late, so I'll go ahead and start dinner. Are you feeling hungry yet, Joji?"

Almost immediately, Joji's stomach rumbled in response which made him laugh lightly. "Ha, yeah. I think I could go for anything right now."

"Sounds good to me!"

Joji had enjoyed the remainder of his night after he had eaten his dinner, deciding to hit the sack around nine in the evening, eager to rest quickly so he could make his way to school the following day. Tomorrow would hold new, unexplored territory for him – Budo-Ga Oka High School.

* * *

Joji Kujo slipped past the school gates in the early hours of the morning, being at least half an hour early. Class would not begin until eight thirty in the morning, so he would attempt to find someone who could show him around the school, though he had his binder hanging from his loose grip which held everything he needed inside of it.

He pushed the front doors of the school open, nearly freezing once he heard an energetic voice shout out "Joji!" among the crowds that inhabited the high school.

He turned to see Yuina Hirose, who had been dressed in her own modified school uniform. She had been wearing a dark green shirt with what appeared to be a featureless bull's head on the abdomen, its horns stretching up to her shoulders. With this, she only wore a mellow blue skirt.

"Oh, hey, Yuina!" Joji waved to her as she ran over to him. "I guess you didn't know until now, but I'm going back to school. Jomei thinks it'd be a good idea if I'm not locked up in a room, and Tomoko agreed too."

"That's great, Joji!" Yuina grinned, her own leather binder dangling from her hand. "If you want, I could show you around the school. I could even show you to your classes if you hand me your schedule!"

"Oh, thanks!" Joji quickly opened his binder, slipping out a single piece of paper and handing it to her. "Do they have any food here in the morning? I'm really hungry."

"I can share some of the instant noodles I bought this morning, if you want? It isn't the best meal for the morning, but it'll fill you up." Yuina offered, which earned her a quick nod from her friend. "Okay, to the cafeteria we go, then!"

It had only taken three minutes to make their way to the cafeteria, and within that small frame of time, Joji swore that he could feel the eyes of his peers burning into the back of his head – was it because that they had all known him as Josuke Kujo, as well? That must have been jarring for them to witness what was once their classmate travel through the school hallways without Koichi Hirose, his best friend.

Joji was relieved once they had entered the cafeteria, which had enough room to hold at least a few dozen students – he had mentally noted that none of the students inside of the cafeteria were looking towards him, rather, they were gathering around a table in the corner.

"Ugh, not again!" Yuina frowned, placing one hand on her hip as she made her way to the table. "I can't believe they're torturing that poor kid again!"

"What poor kid? What are those students doing?" Joji asked, keeping up with Yuina's sudden quickening pace. "Slow down for a minute, I'm a little lost here."

"There's this kid that comes here every morning before class, but that's only because he can't stand crowds. They freak him out, which is a bit of an understatement… to tell you the truth, everything scares him and some of the students won't leave him." Yuina stated, her hands balling up into fists as her tone grew more and more irritated. "His name is Yamato Kawajiri."

On any other morning, Yamato Kawajiri would be cowering in fear – but this was not the case this time around. His dark blue eyes lazily moved from the students surrounding him and towards the wriggling centipede on the table, though he did not even bother to utter a single word.

Yamato Kawajiri wore a light purple school uniform with its sleeves decorated with slender, bright orange dragons with flames shooting from their snouts. On the chest of the uniform was the face of a similar dragon with two long white whiskers extending from each side of its face, its snout pointing downward. Though all the buttons seemed rather normal, the very top button was a silver color for some reason. He stood at six feet tall, his short brown hair combed over to the right side of his head neatly. Despite his flashy shirt, his pants were a rather plain light purple color.

"Aren't you gonna freak out, Yamato?" A boy asked with a large grin, though this only turned into a confused frown once Yamato merely poked it. "Huh? What the hell is going on with you today?"

"Is this supposed to be scary?" Yamato sighed, clearly disappointed by their attempt to strike fear into him. He moved two of his fingers towards the wriggling insect, slowly and carefully raising it off the table. "You guys are better than this…"

Sweat dropped down the side of a girl's head, quickly backing up against another one of her fellow students. "Oh god, put that thing down, please! It's wriggling and disgusting, don't put it anywhere near me!"

The boy turned towards her. "Huh? But you were the one who was saying that we should have brought it to this kid in the first place! What's up with you?"

The girl gulped, turning her head away from the unnerved Yamato. "I take it back, then! Let's just get out of here!"

She darted towards the cafeteria's exit, the students surrounding her soon giving chase to the fearful student. Joji moved to the side so that none of the students would knock him over, and luckily, they had missed Yuina entirely.

"Hey, they weren't bothering you too much, were they?" Yuina asked Yamato, who simply placed the centipede back onto the table. "I can go get a teacher and tell them what happened!"

"It's fine, it wasn't that bad." Yamato told her with his rather monotonous, shrugging before scooting out of his seat, picking up the centipede once again. "I'm going to go put this guy outside. You wanna come with?"

"I don't have the time, sorry! But, do you think you could say hi to Joji?" Yuina asked before stepping to Joji's side, the latter blinking before staring straight ahead at Yamato. "Go ahead, introduce yourself!"

"Why are you asking him to introduce himself when I already know who he is?" Yamato questioned, his dark blue eyes looking from Joji's shoes and then to his face. "You're Josuke Kujo, aren't you? Is this some kind of prank?"

"I'm not Josuke Kujo, so don't call me that, alright? I'm Joji Kujo." Joji said and sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Look, it's a long story, but take my word for it. If you just call me Joji, we'll get along, alright?"

"Alright then." Yamato nodded understandingly, slinging his binder over his shoulder as he moved away from the table. "I'll see you around then, Kujo. Maybe I'll see you in class or something."

"Yeah, see you, then." Joji waved goodbye to the student before turning to Yuina. "Something about that kid rubs me the wrong way. I thought you said he was a huge coward, Yuina."

"Don't be rude, Joji! I thought he was too, but today was different… maybe something really great happened to him!" Yuina said positively, grabbing Joji by his arm before dragging him towards a table. "You can eat for a few minutes before we have to get going, so you should hurry up!"

"Oh, yeah, forgot that class is in less than half an hour…" Joji murmured to himself and sat down, snatching the bowl of noodles from Yuina once she had unpacked them. "Thanks for the food!"

Yuina's eyes widened in shock due to how fast he had snatched the food away from her, but she smiled at his instant response and set the surprise aside. "It's no problem, I hope you enjoy it!"

Over the course of the day, Joji had learned that he shared most of his classes with Yuina, and some of the students that he had seen in the cafeteria had shared some with him as well. He could not shake the feeling of people staring and glaring at him, like he had committed a murder – it was almost unbearable, but he decided it would be best if he tried to ignore them. He did not want to cause a scene on his first day of school, that was the last thing he needed.

His final class – English - had come to an end near three in the afternoon, and the teacher had to run to the bathroom for the time being. He had turned toward Yuina who had finished jotting down several notes into her notebook from the board. He had finished placing his supplies back into his binder, sliding it onto his desk.

"Today went by pretty quickly. Is it always like this?" Joji asked her among the chatting students behind them. "It isn't too exciting, but I've been paying attention. It feels good to move my feet around."

"I'm glad you're liking it, Joji!" Yuina smiled happily at him, giving him a thumbs up as well. "I think you'll get used to it, the time I spend here usually just flies by."

Before Joji could respond, the noise emanating from the students behind them that had once again surrounded Yamato Kawajiri, though, yet again, he had not been phased in the slightest by this – the boy that had been taunting him this morning had been leaning over his desk and speaking to him.

"Hey, Kawajiri!" The boy called out to him happily, placing a hand on his shoulder almost mockingly. "You didn't seem too scared by that centipede this morning. You feeling okay, man?"

"I'm fine, it just wasn't that scary." Yamato sighed, rolling his eyes as he was clearly irritated by the boy's behavior. "What do you want me to say? Do you want me to lie and tell you it was scary?"

"No, but, I have an even better idea that might scare the shit out of you!" The boy laughed, his peers awaiting his idea with bated breath – he turned and pointed at Joji, who blinked in confusion. "There's a haunted house down the street from Josuke's place! Why don't you go investigate it and record yourself? I know you got a camera, you had one last year for a school project. It'll be even scarier for you since it's near one of those creepy Wall-Eyes things!"

Yamato opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted as he watched Joji step towards the boy who had called him by that name. He reached forward, grabbing him by his shoulder tightly enough to where a sharp pain ran through it.

"What did you just call me?" Joji asked, his half-violet half-blue eyes staring deep into his peer's. "My name is Joji. I'm sure you heard the teacher calling me that, didn't you?"  
"Hey, step off." The boy responded, his joking demeanor dissipating. "I'll call you by what your name is, Josuke. What the hell is with you? Did you go crazy or some shit after you disappeared?"

"Shut the fuck up." Joji grunted, his Stand materializing next to him as he grabbed the student by his collar, lifting him into the air with the help of Philosopher King. "You're going to stop being a little shit and listen to me – first off, my name is Joji, deal with it. I'm getting really fucking sick of people calling me by a name that doesn't belong to me, you got it? Second, leave Kawajiri alone, you dumb sack of shit. If it'll please you that much, I'll go to this so-called haunted house with him. How the hell does that sound?"

Joji dropped the boy onto the floor, his Stand fading out of existence. The boy glared at Joji, who merely extended his hand towards Yamato.

"Let's go, Kawajiri." Joji said, his gaze icey. "I'm pissed off, so let's go check out that haunted house before someone gets hurt."

"Uh, alright. I have to run a few errands before I get home, so can you wait for me there?" Yamato asked as he scooted out from his seat, pushing his way towards Joji. "If it isn't too much of a hassle, that is."

"It's no big deal." Joji said, his stare shifting towards the boy who had now backed himself up against the wall at the end of the classroom, sweat dripping down his now pale face. "When this is all said and done, you better not pick on this kid ever again. I don't give a shit if you get it."

Joji made his way out from the classroom with Yamato, though he turned around when he heard footsteps following him from behind. It had been Yuina, who looked rather concerned for Joji and yet angry.

"Joji, you don't have anything to prove to those jerks!" Yuina argued, marching up to him before crossing her arms disapprovingly. "You shouldn't have threatened the guy like that, either! You only made yourself angrier when you confronted him!"

"I just wanted to tell him how it is, it's no big deal. Stop worrying, you're not doing yourself any favors, either." Joji responded with a shake of his head. "Are you going to come to that haunted house with us?"

"I might as well, so you don't get yourself into any more trouble than you already got yourself in." Yuina replied, agreeing to tag along before she turned to Yamato. "Are you sure you wanna come, Yamato?"

"I said I'd go, so I might as well." Yamato said as he started walking with Joji, the young girl soon catching up with the two of them. "Joji, I'm going to go ahead and get a few things done. I'll meet up with you at the haunted house, I know where it is. I've seen people taking pictures of it… but, I want to talk to you about something when I meet up with you two there."

"Okay, that sounds like a plan to me. I have a question, though… why are so many people convinced that it's haunted?" Joji asked Yamato, who put a finger to the bottom of his chin.

"People who gave gone in there say they've heard footsteps, and two figures that look like a girl and a boy. They have always been covered in shadows, since apparently, the house's lights never come on and all of the windows are covered by blinds. No one's ever gone far enough to get a good look at them, but I just know all of this through word of mouth."

"That does sound a little creepy, but I wouldn't say scary." Yuina commented, moving along with her companions. "What do you think, Joji? Is that scary enough for you?"

"It's… uh, it's nothing." Joji laughed, shoving his hands into his pockets as he started to walk faster. "Okay, let's get this shit over with. Come on, Yuina!"

"Coming!" Yuina stifled a giggle, waving goodbye to Yamato as she ran to catch up with the unsettled Joji. "See you later, Yamato!"

"Yeah, I'll catch you later." Yamato said, calmly moving towards the staircase that the duo had begun to traverse. "That Joji Kujo… what an interesting guy."

* * *

It had taken fifteen minutes for Joji and Yuina to arrive at their destination. The haunted house in question was made entirely of wood and had vines growing onto its left and right walls which reached towards the top of the first of the three floors. It had a large window on the second floor, though the blinds had been drawn over it. On the left side of the building had been one of the infamous Wall-Eyes, the road broken up almost completely and cutting off anyone who would wish to take this path to move around Morioh. Some buildings around it had even been completely destroyed, dozens of planks of wood scattered around the area.

Joji gulped, clenching his fists as he felt his spirit invoke Philosopher King for the second time that afternoon. He could feel his sweat dripping off his face, but despite this fear, he knew that he had to fulfill his promise.

"Why are you summoning your Stand, Joji?" Yuina asked curiously, tilting her head slightly. "Are you really that scared of this house? You don't have to actually go inside if you don't want to, you know."

"No, I said I would… besides, it's just for protection. You never know who could be inside this thing… there could be a murderer or something." Joji said in an attempt to excuse his fear, inching closer towards the steel gate protecting the house. "Alright, let's just get inside then…"

Joji pressed his hand onto the steel gate, but as if his Stand was truly protecting him, it held its arms together to protect from an incoming piece of concrete that shot off the road. It had only been pushed back slightly by the blow, but it was enough to make Joji look towards where the concrete had been shot from.

His eyes traveled from the missing spot on the road to a tall, masculine figure standing behind the steel gate. He had light, messy brown hair that was rather unkempt as it stuck out all over his head. He wore a dark blue blazer with its sleeves ripped off, which had been placed on top of his black muscle shirt that had the word for remorse in kanji on it. His eyes were a dull hazel color.

Next to him had been a figure that Joji could only describe as a Stand, as well. It was rather muscular, being a foot taller than its user. Its body was a dull grey, with its hands and feet enormous, covered with what could only be described as tar. On its head were two bright purple eyes where eyes should have been, and its mouth had two sharp fangs stretching out from it. Its head was a flat-top as well.

"Joji! Are you okay?!" Yuina asked, pulling her pen out from her leather binder, tossing it to the ground as she approached her friend. "That guy is a Stand user!"

"I can see that… what the fuck do you want, you asshole?!" Joji shouted, though the boy in front of them merely laughed at his irritation. "What the hell are you laughing at?!"

"Keep your mouth shut and I'll make this quick! I knew a Stand user would come by here eventually!" The boy grinned, his eyes shooting towards the window near the second floor. "Hey, Naomi! Do you mind if I take this punk out?!"

"You should take out the girl too, Minato." A feminine voice emanated from the window, though only a figure covered in shadows could be seen from Joji and Yuina's point of view. "She may not be a Stand user, but, we can't leave any witnesses alive."

"Right!" Minato grinned, showing his teeth as he cracked his knuckles loudly. "Now listen here, you miserable asswipe! I'll show you why no one messes with the Nijimura family! Prepare to feel every inch of pain you've dealt to us!"

Joji grunted, his Stand lowering its guard. "Alright, if you want a fight, I'll give you one… just know I won't go easy on you. Yuina, you come up with a plan to get his sister down from the second floor. I'm going to teach the two of these fuckers a lesson."

"Alright, I'll try my best!" Yuina commented, looking towards the window to see that the feminine figure had disappeared. "I'll do whatever it takes… if they're not going to let you go, then I don't think I have any other choice but to force them!"

"Bring it on, shit for brains!" Minato yelled, apparently welcoming the challenge that this stranger had proposed. "I'll make sure you never walk again once I'm through with your sorry ass!"

* * *

Elsewhere, in a city neighboring Morioh, were two male adults making their way towards a taxi, luggage in hand.

The younger male was six feet and two inches tall, his body rather slim though his muscles were well-toned. His eyes were a burning amber with his long blond hair tied back into a ponytail, the tip of it touching his neck. He had been wearing a white t-shirt with the words GOOD MEN on the front in black letters, his blue jeans ripped at the knees.

The older male was slightly taller, with his unkempt black hair being covered by what appeared to be a rather worn-out fedora. He had worn a white button up dress shirt with this, though the top button had been undone. On top of this, he wore a dark grey vest which had matched perfectly with his fancy black dress pants.

"Alright, November." Jovanni Joestar said with a smirk as he climbed into the taxi, watching his friend slip into the side opposite of him. "You ready for this vacation? I think this is well deserved after all that time we spent saving up for this shit."  
"Yeah, I agree." Abel November replied and smiled, sitting back into the seat comfortably before crossing one leg over the other. "My fingers feel like they're gonna fall off, so I hope this does us some good. I think Japan was a good place to go to, even though you literally just came up with it at the last second before we decided to go somewhere."

"It's gonna be great, I'm sure! Most of the ideas that I pull right out of my ass are either great, or really fucking awesome!" Jovanni bragged, sighing happily as the driver started the engine to the taxi. "To Morioh Grand Hotel, sir. That shouldn't be too far away, right?"

The driver nodded, the vehicle making its way towards the duo's destination as the engine audibly revved up. They had talked about mundane things among what they had expected to do while in Morioh, which only made Jovanni all the more excited and proud of his idea.

And thus, this marked the beginning of a brand new bizarre adventure.

* * *

 **Name: Joji (Josuke) Kujo**  
 **Age: 16**  
 **Stand: Philosopher King**  
 **Stand statistics:**  
 **Destructive Power: C**  
 **Speed: C**  
 **Durability: C**  
 **Precision: C**  
 **Range: C**  
 **Development Potential: A**


	3. So Far From Home

The afternoon sun beat down onto the citizens of Morioh, though Joji Kujo and Yuina Hirose were feeling the full brunt of it as they stood in front of what they had believed to be a haunted house. Facing them was Minato Nijimura, though his sister, Naomi Nijimura, was hiding somewhere within the house itself.

"Minato Nijimura, huh?" Joji asked himself loudly, pressing his finger to his chin as a calm, light purple aura emitted from his slender frame. "Your name doesn't ring any bells, so you're probably not that important, is that right?"

"Shut your mouth! You don't get to make fun of Minato Nijimura so lightly, you fucking punk!" Minato cried, his hulking monster of a Stand pressing its fists down into the concrete. "Manawar, let's break every bone in this motherfucker's body!"

Minato darted towards Joji with his Stand's fists extended, each of them going for a hard blow to his gut – though Joji had taken a mental note that his fists were approaching rather slowly, allowing him to barely dodge in time.

"YOU FUCKING COWARD!" Minato screamed, his Stand's fists plummeting into the hard concrete below – but, they had been pulled out of it rather easily, leaving a mess of rubble on the street. "Fight back instead of running away like a little shit!"

Joji stood in place as Minato said this, his Philosopher King raising its arms to defend itself from the incoming blow. He was met with surprise as Manawar's hanging fist flew upwards, completely breaking the Stand's guard.

"Fuck!" Joji grunted, his eyes quickly darting towards the concrete beneath him. He had noticed that a pillar extended from it, though as it shot towards his face his Stand's fists broke it into pieces within a few moments. "Damn it, why the fuck are you trying to kill me, you asshole?!"

"You're a killer, that's why! The fact that you have a Stand is proof enough!" Minato cried, his anger barely subsiding as he charged towards Joji a second time. "Don't try to play dumb, shithead!"

"I don't know what the fuck you're talking about!" Joji shouted, clearly irritated by the stranger's onslaught. Before Joji managed to stand in place, he had noticed that Minato had started to charge towards him once again, prompting Philosopher King to launch itself towards him once he had entered its range. "I guess you won't listen to me, so I'll beat some sense into you!"

Manawar threw its two heavy fists towards Philosopher King, only for the latter to swiftly duck out of the way before its opponent had made contact with its body – within that moment, Philosopher King beat its fists against Manawar's hard concrete body.

"DORARARARARA!" Philosopher King screamed, its knuckles growing sore as they beat against Manawar's body effectively despite the pain resonating throughout its own hands. Manawar growled, angered by the suffering that had started to rattle throughout its bones. "DORA!"

With its final scream, Philosopher King delivered a swift blow to Manawar's chin, which sent it back towards its user who coughed up a small amount of blood once the hit had registered onto his body as well.

Joji grunted, feeling as if his knuckles were going to crack apart if he landed another hit on the sturdy Stand. His power was no joke, but it seemed that Manawar was rather bulky and would not go down so easily.

Minato rubbed the blood that had seeped onto his chin away with two of his fingers, his chest heaving as he attempted to catch his breath – a minute had not even passed since they had started fighting, and yet he was drenched in sweat.

 _If I make one wrong move, he'll hit me so hard it'll make my chest cave in… that Stand of his hits like a fucking truck!_ Minato thought to himself, though his hazel eyes widened slightly once he had realized something. _He hasn't displayed an ability of any kind… all he's done is dodge and hit me, there's nothing special about that! Is he trying to fuck with my head?!_

Joji cracked his knuckles after he had finished pummeling Minato's Manawar, his eyes shifting towards where Yuina Hirose once was – there was only what appeared to be a ladder that she had clearly drawn with her Stand, Coyote Theory. He turned back to Minato after managing to spot Yuina's legs crawl into the window that Minato's supposed sister had been standing in just a minute ago.

"I don't want to fight you." Joji said, his intense aura quickly dissipating as he spoke. "I don't know why you're going after me for, but I just wanted to check out this house. Are you paranoid that someone is trying to kill you or something?"

"Stop acting like you don't know!" Minato shouted as his hazel eyes twitched, feeling as if his blood vessels were about to burst from the intense anger rattling his brain. "You came back here to finish the Nijimura family off, didn't you?! I'm going to kill you before you can kill us, motherfucker!"

"Do I look like a murderer to you? I'm a high school student, no matter how you look at me." Joji said, attempting to force some sense into the young man. "I can just get my friend and leave, if that's what you want. Whatever you're going on about, it's none of my business."

"You're not gonna get away that easily! Stop babbling and prove to me that you're innocent!" Minato yelled as he blindly darted towards Joji, who simply stepped to the side once he had approached him. "Huh?! What the fuck, don't you run away!"

"ORA!" Philosopher King shouted as it brought its fist down onto Minato's face, sending him across the hard pavement with an audible thud. Joji stepped over to Minato and kneeled, who had fallen unconcious from the hard blow to his face.

"Maybe you'll believe me when you wake up and realize that you're not dead." Joji sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance as he approached the gate that had remained closed. "I'll go through the gate so that girl won't see me coming the same that Yuina went. She's probably trying to kill her, just like how her brother tried to kill me… I won't let that happen!"

"Hey, what's going on here, Kujo?" Yamato Kawajiri's voice prompted Joji to turn around to see the young man. "Why did you knock that guy out, did you pick a fight or something?"

"On the contrary." Joji responded, though he blinked as a realization dawned on him. "Wait, you saw all of that, Kawajiri? Then that means…"

"Yeah, I'm a Stand user." Yamato admitted rather calmly, his eyes narrowing towards Minato's unconcious body. "It seems both of your Stands are power types, without much range. I would have helped, but my Stand isn't exactly very helpful in fights."

"What do you mean? I'm sure you could have done something!" Joji argued, though Yamato merely shook his head in response. "You could have backed me up!"

"Sorry, but I don't see how." Yamato said before running his index finger over the silver button on his school uniform. "This is my Stand, Lech… it has no outstanding strength, it can't move, and it's bound to my clothes. It can take whatever fear I would feel and transfer it to somebody within five feet of me - and before you say anything, I know that I used to be an enormous coward."

"Wait, then that means you haven't had your Stand for very long then, right?" Joji asked, which resulted in a nod from Yamato. "Then what's the deal? This seems pretty sudden to me."

"Yeah, it was out of nowhere when I first realized it… the only reason I know what it is, is because I used to overhear you and Koichi talking about your Stands while you were at lunch. You always ate alone, and I can't blame you, everyone in the school would think you're crazy." Yamato said, though he shook his head. "Sorry, I'll get back to the point… I guess it awakened after the earthquake hit Morioh. My mom and I lost our house. I've never been that scared in my life, so I guess this dormant ability inside of my soul awakened as a result of that. I can't even feel fear any more, which should be scary by itself, but it's replaced with this numbness… but, I guess that will come in handy now. Can you tell me what's going on so I can help you?"

"We just got here a few minutes ago, but these two assholes started attacking us… so, Yuina went inside to fight this asshole's sister. I'm about to go in to try and help out Yuina, do you think you could lend me a hand?" Joji asked, his eyes lighting up once Yamato nodded in agreement. "Sweet, let's go, then!"

* * *

Yuina Hirose looked through the dark room, noticing that the only furniture it had was a broken down leather chair in the far left corner – the wooden door had barely opened as she approached it, and she had been frozen in place ever since.

She gripped her ink pen tightly as the door opened to reveal the feminine figure that had been covered in darkness before, though her appearance was easier to distinguish since Yuina was closer to her than she originally was.

Naomi Nijimura stood at the height of five feet and eight inches tall. She had short, bright red hair resting on her head above her bright hazel eyes. She wore a loose grey sweatshirt which covered a majority of her hands, though her fingertips barely poked out from the sleeves. On the sweatshirt was the word for fear in kanji on the abdomen of the article of clothing. From the end of the sleeves were two sharp black lines that ran towards the kanji. With this, she wore a set of grey sweatpants which had the words War on the left leg above the word The, and on the right leg was the word Is above the word Answer.

"I won't waste my time and talk trash to you like my younger brother would." Naomi Nijimura said coldly, a muscular figure materializing by her side. "My Stand, Five Finger Death Punch, will make sure you and your associate don't set foot near our home ever again."

Five Finger Death Punch was a rather muscular Stand, towering above Naomi thanks to its enormous height of seven feet tall. Its eyes were covered by a set of black goggles, a red X covering each lens of the goggles. Its head was covered with a camouflaged styled helmet, though it was a sickly yellow with a few green blotches displayed throughout it, resembling a helmet that would belong to a US soldier. Its body was covered by a wrinkled Marine Corps. Uniform, which shared the same colors as its helmet, which was the same for its set of pants.

Yuina Hirose allowed her usual hot pink aura coat her hand, and by extension, her ink pen. Her eyes focused on her hand as she drew a muscular figure that was familiar to her mind, it had been quite similar to the one that she had drawn to dig Joji out from the rubble a few days prior.

"Coyote Theory, take down that Stand, but don't hurt the user too badly!" Yuina called out to the newborn drawing, its featureless head nodding as it bolted towards Five Finger Death Punch, one of its fists drawn.

"I see, so your Stand's ability allows you to bring whatever you draw to life? How handy." Naomi commented nonchalantly as her own Stand merely dodged to the side, its left leg kicking Coyote Theory's creation in the chest. "But you won't be able to land a single blow on me with that kind of speed."

Coyote Theory took the hit with relative ease, barely bothered by the strike itself but it had grown more concerned with the fact that its opponent had managed to dodge its blow with ease. Five Finger Death Punch was faster, but not by a wide margin – it would land a blow on the enemy eventually if it just kept pushing itself.

Over the next several seconds, Coyote Theory threw at least a dozen punches at Five Finger Death Punch, the latter merely dodging and landing hard punches on the drawing's featureless face and its abdomen – despite how sturdy Coyote Theory was, it felt as if it could collapse at any moment. This resonated with its user, Yuina, who started to grunt as brutal punches met with her Stand's body.

 _What's going on here? Her Stand isn't that much faster than mine, but it's able to dodge every move like it knows what's coming next. Something's wrong here…_ Yuina thought to herself as her curious eyes traveled along the walls and then the ceiling, noticing that there had been a security placed onto the wall. _Is that her Stand's ability?! She's able to place cameras on any surface that she pleases, and she can just see through them at any point? Talk about unfair!_

Coyote Theory retracted back towards Yuina, who slowly started to approach Naomi – this was a surprise to the latter, but she would not let her opponent see this. She would strike if she stepped too close, that was for sure.

"I don't know why you're fighting us, but I'm going to defend myself. Just know that, whatever happens… it's all your fault." Yuina said rather menacingly before pointing her pen into the air, quickly sketching what appeared to be a revolver. "You can't dodge everything my Stand does if you can't see me from another angle!"

She aimed the revolver at the camera attached to the ceiling, flinching before she fired it, a black bullet colliding with it – she turned back to Naomi who grabbed her shoulder and winced, allowing Coyote Theory to take advantage of her current situation.  
Yuina allowed the gun to dissipate as the muscular figure that she had drawn started to pummel Five Finger Death Punch, its fists pummeling against its abdomen as Naomi grunted in annoyance and anger.

Despite the blows meeting with Five Finger Death Punch, it managed to use its user's fury as fuel to reach over to Yuina and grab her by her left arm, soon tossing her out from the wall that Naomi had been standing by – added with this, the enemy Stand delivered a hard punch to her gut.

Yuina screamed as she watched the wooden floor beneath her close in, noticing that she had been thrown towards the first floor – however, below her were her two friends Joji Kujo and Yamato Kawajiri, the former looking towards Yuina with a clear shock in his eyes.

"YUINA! PHILOSOPHER KING, CATCH HER!" Joji shouted, his Stand materializing quickly. It had managed to grab Yuina before she hit the floor, turning away from Naomi who had looked over to see Joji and Yamato.

"My little brother couldn't handle you, huh? I guess if you want something done, you have to do it yourself." Naomi sighed, though she blinked as she leaned over the railing. "Wait, I recognize you… aren't you that kid that went missing after the earthquake? Josuke Kujo?"

"I'm going to take care of Yuina, but after that… I'm going to beat the living shit out of you for calling me that." Joji said without any explanation, kneeling down as he set Yuina onto the wooden floor. "I know it's uncomfortable, but just stay here for now. I can take care of this asshole by myself."

Suddenly, Philosopher King placed its hands above the heavily panting Yuina, a dark violet aura surrounding her – as this happened, she felt the pain in her gut fade which led to her breathing to become calm once more.

"Is that your Stand's ability, Joji?" Yamato asked, though Joji only stared at Yuina, completely bewildered at what just happened. "Your Stand can heal people? It seems like you didn't know that until now… with that, it looks like your Stand might just have a mind of its own."

"Well, that isn't important right now." Joji commented, glaring towards Naomi as he cracked his knuckles audibly. "What's important is that I get to the bottom of this. Once I kick your ass, you're going to tell me just what the fuck is going on, and you'll answer every single question I have for your sorry ass!"

With the help of Philosopher King, Joji jumped towards the ledge that Naomi had been standing near, pulling himself up to the point where he was able to stand in front of her. Without so much as a warning, his Stand's fists closed in on Five Finger Death Punch, who easily met Philosopher King blow for blow, their fists meeting every few seconds.

"You're too slow, Josuke Kujo!" Naomi yelled, her Stand's fist meeting with Philosopher King's chin – following this was a hard kick to the gut, sending Joji against the wooden wall that Yuina had been tossed out of. "Your Stand just isn't fast enough to keep up with Five Finger Death Punch, and it sure isn't strong enough to break through its defenses! You only beat my little brother because he was blinded by rage!"

"What the fuck did he have to be mad about?! I haven't done anything!" Joji argued, only for the enemy Stand to slap him across his face. After this, a second hard kick to the gut knocked him into the room that they had been standing in front of. "Goddamn it!"

Joji slowly picked himself up, panting as his dark purple aura returned around his frame – but it was no use, his condition did not improve one bit like it had with Yuina. Instead, he only gasped as what appeared to be words formed across his gut, though they had been spoken throughout a deep, monotonous voice.

Moya moya.

What was that supposed to be? It looked like it was something out of a manga he would read, as it resembled the sound effect for worry in kanji. Was this another ability that his Stand had? He only felt confusion spread throughout his mind before the words dissipated from his body.

"Josuke, it was a good effort, but that doesn't mean shit at the end of the day." Naomi said, glaring at Joji as her hands balled up into tight fists. "I'm going to make you pay, so I hope you're ready to go to hell!"

"I'm not going anywhere." Joji said despite the fact that resistance appeared to be futile, shooting a similar glare towards Naomi as he stood up. "I haven't done anything wrong, neither has Yuina! Would you just shut the fuck up and tell me what's going on?! I HAVE HALF A MIND TO BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU IF YOU DON'T STOP CALLING ME JOSUKE, SO YOU BETTER WATCH WHAT YOU SAY!"

Naomi felt as if her legs would frozen in place, though she felt the presence of someone behind her. Her hazel eyes narrowed, noticing that Yamato Kawajiri had placed himself behind her, a mellow green aura surrounding his body.

"Come here!" Joji shouted, grinning as Yamato pushed the woman towards him. "Thanks for the backup, Yamato! Here's the beating I promised, Nijimura!"

Philosopher King's fists beat against the woman's abdomen repeatedly before moving towards her face, her body soon skidding across the wooden floor as blood fell from her lips. Joji's fiery aura faded after he landed the final blow, shoving his hands in his pockets as he approached the beaten Stand user.

All across her skin were now the words 'moya moya' in a dark green text, the monotonous voice repeating even as Naomi slowly picked herself up. She looked at Joji with fear in her eyes, the latter merely sitting down as well.

"Now, you're going to tell me what I want to know. Do those sounds bother you?" Joji asked, which earned him a nod from the defeated woman. "Good. I'll take them off if you agree to answer my questions, do you understand? Then we can both go our separate ways."

"Yeah, just take them off! This is fucking annoying!" Naomi practically begged, soon sighing with relief as the sounds faded away from her skin. "Thanks… now, what do you want to know?"

"First thing's first, why did you and your brother attack us?" Joji asked. "He was attacking to kill, but he's doing fine now. I just knocked him unconcious."

Yuina and Yamato had stepped inside the room as well to listen to Naomi's explanation, the woman's bottom lip quivering as she stared down at the wooden floor she had been sitting on. She slowly lifted her head to look at Joji, who looked rather impatient.

"Last winter, around January, my brother and I lived in Tokyo with our father. Our mother had been murdered, which was expected given our father's line of work, but it didn't make the blow any less hard to take. Anyway, our father was a member of the Yakuza. He always told us to not call him or go near him while he had business to take care of, because a lot of the other members had these weird powers that they would use on us. He never told us why, probably to keep us safe… but, just a few months ago… my father was killed, and I'm sure it was someone with one of those special powers. It must have been a Stand user!" Naomi explained, wet tears streaming down her face as Joji's expression softened.

"Right." Joji murmured, scratching the back of his head as he listened to Naomi intently. "How did you figure out that it was a Stand user?"

"We moved here last month, but… sometime after the earthquake and those weird Wall-Eyes things appeared out of nowhere, my Stand awakened. My brother gained one as well, and we figured this must have been the sort of power that put my father down… so we've been looking for any Stand user we could, or anyone that would dare come close to this house. We're so sure the person that killed him will come for us… if they're a part of Yakuza or some other gang, they'll finish off the entire family, I'm sure." Naomi told him, and Joji nodded understandingly.

Minato Nijimura made his way inside of the room, tears staining his face as well as he approached Joji Kujo, who only looked towards him with an unamused look on his face. Minato sat down, bowing his head to Joji quickly.

"I'm sorry I attacked you so recklessly. I wasn't thinking, and…" Minato trailed off, his hands pulling at his messy brown hair. "I'm such a dipshit, aren't I?"

"It's fine, it's in the past now. I forgive you for trying to murder me in cold blood, Minato." Joji said with a slight smirk, though he turned back to Naomi. "I'm sorry about what happened to your father, but I need you to answer a few more questions for me… you and Yamato talked about how your abilities awakened after the earthquake. What do you think about that?"

"The Wall-Eyes might have something to do with Stand abilities. If your friend has awakened a Stand ability as well, he must have had the potential to be able to withstand the power of it… some people simply do not develop Stands, but this is just a theory." Naomi told him, wiping her eyes for a brief moment. "Are you really not Josuke Kujo? You look very similar to him."

"That's who I used to be, I think? I'm not sure. My name is Joji Kujo." Joji told her, crossing his arms while he did so. "I woke up by one of the Wall-Eyes without any memory of my life before that. Do you have any idea on what that might be?"

"I don't. I'm sorry." Naomi said, running one of her hands through her red hair briefly. "What do you know so far? What about Koichi Hirose?"

"Koichi Hirose is dead, I know that much… a few more odd things… well, I have four balls, my eyes look pretty weird. That's all I can think of." Joji told her, turning to look at Yuina. "We were talking about this the other day. Do you have any idea of what might have happened?"

"After the autopsy on Koichi's body, Kiyoshi told me a few things." Yuina started, approaching Joji slowly. "Koichi's eyes were no longer apart of his body, and, well… his unmentionables were nowhere to be found, too. You're shorter, too… Josuke was at least six feet tall."

"There's no other possibility then." Naomi interrupted, looking towards the confused Joji. "This might be a bit hard to hear, but… this can't be a coincidence. Joji, it's possible that you're both Josuke Kujo and Koichi Hirose. Well, no, to put it in a better way, for some reason… your body absorbed some of the properties of Koichi's body."

"Your Stand has an ability that belonged to Koichi, too, Joji." Yuina told Joji, who only stared at his shaking hands. "He could put different kinds of sound effects on people. But, do you really think you might be both of them, in body and soul?"

"I don't know… but this is a lot to take in. I can't argue against that." Joji sighed deeply, his hands visibly shaking. "The mystery of the Wall-Eyes, who I am… I still can't remember anything. Fuck, this is driving me crazy!"

"We'll have to investigate the Wall-Eyes sometime, then. If you were found there after the earthquake, then that means Josuke and Koichi were doing something near the area… we need to find out what that is, somehow." Yamato remarked, watching as Joji approached him. "I don't know where we could go from here, though."

Before Joji could respond, he watched as what appeared to be a man clad in black clothing approach Yuina from behind. He charged towards the figure, only for his fist to run through what appeared to be an apparition.

He could hear muffled yelling from his friends, and it seemed as if they were under the same effect as him. He felt as if someone was clinging to his back, breathing down his neck but when he turned there was absolutely no one there.

In the midst of the confusion, he could see what looked to be a feminine figure running a sharp blade through Naomi Nijimura's squirming throat, blood seeping onto the blade – however, the feminine figured stopped in surprise once it looked down to see the word for "moya moya" attached to her leg.

The blurriness covering Joji Kujo's eyes soon faded, and he was able to see the figure that had managed to stick a blade through Naomi's throat – which left Minato screaming in anguish, his hands pulling his deceased sister close to him.

The woman had long, bright purple hair that stretched down to the middle of her back. She had a scar that stretched from her top lip to her bottom lip, as well. Her outfit was a dark blue dress that extended past her knees, which had the word SUPERNOVA in golden letters across the back of it, as well as the word CONQUER on a golden necklace that had been wrapped around her neck.

"WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Joji shouted as he approached the woman with caution, though she merely smirked.

"Someone caught me off guard with their ability, what a damn shame." She rolled her eyes before moving towards the open window that Yuina had crawled through previously. "That's one of the Nijimura siblings down, but now I have a whole mess of you to take care of. I'll have to take care of you individually… I can probably figure out where you live, since I heard the whole conversation. My Stand doesn't do too well in crowds."

Before Joji could reach her, she had jumped out from the house and darted down the street, not daring to look back or taunt the group further. Joji turned to Minato, who had fell silent as he looked at his sister's dead body.

Yuina and Yamato looked towards their comrade, who only shook his head and uttered something very quiet.

"Goddamn it!" Joji yelled, his hands pulling at his fringed pompadour as he kicked the wood wall, his eyes twitching before he heard Minato speak.

"I'll… I'll be honest…" Minato managed to choke out the words he wanted out from his throat through his tears, soon staring up at Joji. "My sister… wasn't the best person in the world. She was mean to me, she would get angry at people who would pass her by and get into fights, but… she was still my sister in the end."

Joji was unsure of what to do, but he slipped his hand onto Minato's shoulder as a gesture of kindness. "I'm sorry. I know how it feels to lose something that was important to you."

Minato fell silent.

* * *

Two days had passed since the events at the Nijimura household, and Joji Kujo had prepared to make his journey to school as he packed his leather binder. He made his way to the door once the doorbell rang, pushing the door open to see Minato Nijimura with his own binder between his side and his left arm.

"Minato, what are you doing here?" Joji asked him, and Minato only grinned. "Wait, are you going to school or something? And how did you figure out where I live?"

"Yuina told me! I got my schedule the other day and we share most of our classes together, Joji!" Minato said cheerfully, throwing his arm around Joji's shoulder. "If we're gonna take that motherfucker down, we should stick together, right? We should try to get along until then!"

"I guess you're right… she did threaten to kill all of us, so it would make sense to try and stick together." Joji told him, admitting that he had a point. "Well, we might as well head to school, then."

"Last one there is a rotten egg!" Minato yelled enthusiastically as he darted away from Joji's home with a bright smile across his face, his feet carrying him far away. "Woo!"

"I think there's such a thing as being too excited…" Joji muttered to himself before shutting the door behind him, slowly following Minato who had nearly disappeared from his sight. "Today's gonna be a slow day, I can feel it in my bones already."

* * *

Later in the afternoon, Jomei Kujo walked through the city of Morioh, avoiding areas where the Wall-Eyes had broken down homes and businesses so he could traverse the land more easily. It was a rather slow day, and he had taken note that not many other citizens seemed to be out and about today.

"Another slow day at work." Jomei said to himself, groaning as he stared at the watch wrapped around his wrist. "It's eleven in the morning… I should try to find a better job, especially with that Yoshikage asshole constantly putting me down like I'm a dog. Thank god I finished all my work early, or I would still be stuck in that hellhole with him."

Jomei stopped in his tracks once he heard something rattling against the sidewalk behind him, turning around which caused him to back up a little, though the object did not stop in its path.

It took the appearance of what seemed to be a model tank with a bright blue shell surrounding it, with four separate wheels on each end of its small body. On the front seemed to be a long face designed as a skull with a pointy nose sticking out, its eyes glowing a bright yellow color – though, as strange as this was, it started to speak.

"Look over here."

Jomei Kujo merely looked at it, hearing a strange ticking sound every few moments as it grew closer and closer to him – as if on instinct, he darted away from this object, though he could hear it growing closer to him, the sound of its wheels rattling against the concrete again and again.

"I don't know what the fuck that thing is, but I don't wanna stick around and find out!" Jomei commented, a golden aura surrounding his body once he realized that the tank would not slow down for anything. "I'll just have to try and beat it back with Deaf Havana."

A figure shrouded in fog took its place by Jomei Kujo, its bright golden eyes shining through the mess rather clearly. In only a moment, the fog completely dissipated, revealing the figure in its entirety. Deaf Havana was as tall as its user; its body was stocky, stacked with muscle. Its head was shaped like Jomei's, its two golden eyes staring straight ahead at the unfamiliar object. Short grey hair rested on its pale grey head, its nose rather large and its cheekbones sharp. Starting at its feet were two golden pipes that stretched from the bottom of his body, stopping right below its shining eyes.

"Something about that thing is dangerous!" Jomei shouted as the ticking continued, gasping once the strange object rocketed towards his feet. "I'll have to beat it back!"

"Kein scheiss!" The object screeched as it approached Jomei, the ticking growing faster. "LOOK OVER HERE!"

"ORA!" Deaf Havana shouted as its fists beat against the outer shell of the device, though its user felt sweat drip down his neck as he felt his hands grow weary over time. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

Jomei quickly jumped away from the object, his knuckles throbbing once he managed to see that his attack did not have an effect on it. His ears flinched once the ticking came to an end, though he had managed to put a considerable distance between himself and the object.

His eyes widened once he watched a flurry of flames shoot out from the tank, the explosion shattering the sidewalk beneath it – Jomei held up both of his arms to defend himself from any debris, his Stand easily flicking the pieces of concrete that came his way.

"What the fuck was that thing?" Jomei muttered to himself, but he felt his heart sink into his chest once he saw that the object had not been scathed by the explosion. "What the hell?! Is this someone's Stand?!"

"Look over here! Kein scheiss!" The Stand yelled as it slowly approached the sweating man, its glowing eyes embedding themselves into Jomei's. "I told you to look over here!"

Without a moment to waste, Jomei made a mad dash across the sidewalk and towards an alleyway, his ears perking up once he heard the object's tires rattling against the concrete behind him. He had managed to make his way to a new street, noticing that he had made his way towards the coffee shop.

There had been a man sitting on a bench outside, drinking his cup of coffee with one hand and holding the newspaper with the other – Jomei made his way towards him, though he gasped once he saw that the Stand had shot towards the cup of coffee.

"LOOK OVER HERE!" It screamed as it exploded once more, a second explosion engulfing the bystander in just a few moments. Not even ashes remained after the fiery blast came to its conclusion, leaving the bench vaporized as well.

"That man! It killed him like it was nothing!" Jomei remarked, panting heavily as he watched the tank slowly roam towards his feet. "Why did it go towards him, though? I'm its target!"

Jomei started to run away from the path he would usually take home, determined to somehow trap this monstrous Stand so it would not cause any more harm – but what could stop this thing? It seemed like it was fixated on him and it would stop at nothing until he was vaporized.

 _That man… he didn't even notice the Stand, so he couldn't have been a Stand user._ Jomei thought to himself, pointing his index finger at his chin. _Do I have something it wants? Did that man have something it wanted? That man… the only thing that I could think of is that he was holding a cup of coffee!_

Jomei pushed a bystander out of the way as he dashed across the street, determined to shake this tank-like Stand off his tail even if it meant he had to run all day. He had noted that he had been approaching one of the Wall-Eyes, the one that Joji had been found by a few days prior.

He stood on the edge of the hill as the object approached him – he dived down the hill, his Stand's hand dragging along the side of the hill so he would not fall hard. Jomei's eyes shot back up towards the hill when he had finally landed near the Wall-Eye, noticing that the tank had not stopped in its pursuit.

"I know what to do!" Jomei told himself as he repositioned his hands above the ground, his Stand's hands quickly pulling at the dirt underneath. His hands moved so quickly that they had nearly become invisible to his eyes, though he sighed once he managed to dig several feet down into the soil. "Come here, you fucking bastard!"

"Look over here!" The Stand shouted as it approached Jomei, only for Deaf Havana to scoop it up with its hands despite the repeated ticking resounding from its shell. "I SAID LOOK OVER HERE!"

"ORA!" Deaf Havana shouted after it tossed the tank into the hole it dug, quickly piling the dirt into the hole at the same rapid speed that it had dug it up. Jomei wiped his brow and slowly backed away from the hole, steadying his breathing.

"I think it's stuck… that's good, now I can get the hell out of here while I have a chance." Jomei murmured to himself before he made his way up the side of the hill, shoving his hands into his pockets. "It's a damn good thing I didn't have to find the user, because I wouldn't know where the hell to even start looking."

* * *

Yoshikage Kagerou walked at a slow pace towards the Wall-Eye that Jomei had been battling near later in the evening, his left hand throbbing as he approached the clump of dirt that had been placed near the towering figure. He stared down at it before sighing deeply, a muscular figure materializing beside him.

"Sheer Heart Attack couldn't take care of Jomei Kujo… I had no idea that he of all people would have a Stand, so I suppose I underestimated him. There's no other way he could have avoided being destroyed by Killer Queen's second bomb." Yoshikage Kagerou murmured to himself, watching as the tank suddenly broke out from its underground prison.

Killer Queen shared a similar height with its user, its body a light pink in color. The top of its head was flat, with two sharp, triangular ears stood up on each side of its head. Its eyes were rather cat-like, its pupils vertical, its iris' slender and a bright white color. It has no nose on its face, its mouth perpetually closed. It wore dark, leather-like and studded forearm length gloves on each arm. It also has what appears to be a garter belt across its waist, being black in color which matches with its dark footwear which reaches up to its ankles. It has four short spikes that line the top of its back, as well. On its crotch is a black plate that has the emblem of a skull with cat ears attached to it. With this, on both sides of its ankles, its belt buckle, its shoulders, the back of its hands also share the same emblem.

"Return to me, Sheer Heart Attack." Yoshikage Kagerou said, the tank-like Stand shooting back into Killer Queen's left hand, its physical form dissipating quickly. "I'll have to take care of him somehow. I don't like that piece of shit, he always tries to outperform me in everything I do. Competition is something that I do not care for, and he will know this well very soon."

"I could help." A soft, feminine disembodied voice spoke, causing Yoshikage Kagerou to look to the left and then to the right. "I'm over here, human."

Yoshikage Kagerou looked towards the Wall-Eye, his emerald eyes shaking as he witnessed just what was happening. He watched as a woman with pale, wavy pink hair somehow climbed out from the solid rock wall, her slender arms grabbing at it as she stared straight ahead at the unsuspecting man with her large, almost soothing lavender eyes.

"What the hell are you?!" Yoshikage Kagerou shouted, backing away from the woman whose blunt demeanor had barely shifted in response. "Is this the work of an enemy Stand?!"

"I assume that you wanted to kill the Stand user that escaped from your own ability, right?" She spoke softly, her pink lips curving into a small smile. "Well, am I right, human?"

Yoshikage Kagerou only nodded, his Killer Queen standing by his side as he slowly approached the woman, his own dark purple aura surronding his slender frame.

"That's good. My name is Alandria Megumi." She said, her small smile slowly twisting into a grin. "I have a proposition for you, sir."

* * *

Joji Kujo yawned at the lunch table the following day, sitting next to Yuina Hirose and across from Yamato Kawajiri. He had been waiting for Minato Nijimura to make his way back from the bathroom, though he could not help but speak.

"So, has Minato acted super cheery all day in front of you guys, too?" Joji asked, receiving nods from each of his friends. "Don't you think that's kind of weird? His sister died in a split second, and he's just acting like nothing happened!"

"It's probably how he copes with loss, Kujo." Yamato told him, stirring his straw in his milk carton absentmindedly. "He doesn't know what to do, so he's pretending that he can move on, just like that. Don't bring it up with him, though, it'll only make him feel worse."

"Yeah, I agree with Yamato." Yuina said with a quick, understanding nod. "We should let him take care of his feelings by himself until he wants to share them. I'm surprised that he wants to be friends, though, even with what happened…"

"Who the hell do you even think that was that killed Naomi? It was no one I recognized, but... well, yeah, that's pretty much a given." Joji sighed deeply, his eyes shifting towards a shadow that had started to loom behind him.

"I'm back, guys!" Minato announced as he made his way into the crowded cafeteria, his hands running around his lunch tray. "How are you guys today, by the way? I haven't been able to pay attention in class all day, I'm so happy that I have friends I can hang out with!"

"Well, uh, we're happy that we can be your friends." Joji replied, shooting a bright smile towards him all the while. "Do you wanna do anything once we get out of school today, Minato? I'm pretty much free."

"You have homework to do, Joji!" Yuina barked at him, causing Joji to flinch in response. "You aren't doing anything until I know you've got every bit of your homework done!"

"Fine." Joji groaned, pulling his leather binder onto the cafeteria table in response. "I'll just do it right here, right now. Anyway, as I was saying, is there anything you wanna do after class ends?"

"I've heard about this restaurant that opened up near one of the Wall-Eyes!" Minato said, almost drooling from the thought of it. "I think they serve really good American food there, so I wanna try it out!"

"That sounds good to me! You can count me in!" Joji exclaimed excitedly before he turned to Yuina and Yamato. "School food gets boring after a while, so do you guys wanna come with us?"

"I have to help my mother after school, so you guys can go on ahead." Yamato said, putting the tip of his milk carton against his lips. "Sorry, but I don't like thinking about my mother working alone."

"You've only been going to school for a few days now, Joji… but, alright, I'll come!" Yuina nodded in agreement, standing up from the cafeteria table a moment after. "I hope work goes well, Yamato. I'll see you later this afternoon."

"Yeah, see you." Yamato remarked, placing his milk carton back onto the table. "You'll have to get some takeout for me. I'm pretty interested in this place, as well."

"Got it." Joji said, acknowledging Yamato. "Well, I'm gonna do my homework so you guys can head back to class… I just don't want Yuina to stop me from going anywhere, like she's my mom or something."

"I got your back, Joji! Even if you don't get it done, I'm sure I can help you convince her that it was just too hard or something!" Minato said, slapping Joji's back reassuringly. "Your buddy, Minato Nijimura, will back you up if you just ask!"

Joji sighed deeply, pressing his face down into his leather binder. "I'm not stupid, but… yeah, thanks for that."

* * *

Jovanni Joestar and Abel November sat in their hotel room at Morioh Grand Hotel, looking out towards the shining sea from their king-sized beds. The room they had been placed in had a bright red rug which matched the soothing white walls, and there had been two large beds placed next to one another, though there was a cabinet in-between each of them.

"You know, it feels really weird that there's nothing to do but relax." Jovanni Joestar commented, taking a sip of the red wine he had ordered. "It feels fancy as fuck, too. It's great and all, but, damn… I've never felt this lazy in my entire life."

"Talk about it, but, it feels good to finally get some well deserved vacation time." Abel November responded, which earned him a nod from his comrade. "We're vacationing here until summer begins, so we might as well enjoy ourselves, man. Don't worry about getting any action, because the point of this trip is to relax."

"Yeah, you're right." Jovanni said, stretching his legs onto his bed as he stared at the newspaper he was holding with his other hand. "I kind of wanna check out their police department, since I have no idea how they run things here in Japan. It's a pretty small town, too… it's not like Miami, at all."

"I guess I can't blame you for being interested." November said, stretching his arms. "We'll have to do some sight seeing before the end of the day. It would be a little nice to try and make a few friends while we're here, make a few memories with them, too."

Before Jovanni could respond to November, he nearly jumped out of his skin once the white wooden door slammed open, falling off of its hinges. Jovanni allowed his Stand, Future Heart, to materialize by his side once he started to obtain a good look at the perpetrator.

In front of where the door used to be was a slender figure, which stood at the towering height of seven feet tall. Its body was a deep ocean blue color, the only features on its face being its two sunken, bright blue eyes which had what appeared to be golden rings which poked out from each of its eyelids. With this, it wore a white dress shirt under its black vest, which went well with its crimson red tie and black dress pants. On its chest was the word Runaround in a gold color, though two lines extended from each end of the word and met at the back of its vest, forming what appeared to be a road line.

"What did you just say about relaxing, November?!"

* * *

 **Name: Yuina Hirose**  
 **Age: 15**  
 **Stand: Coyote Theory**  
 **Stand statistics**  
 **Destructive Power: E - B**  
 **Speed: C**  
 **Durability: A**  
 **Precision: C**  
 **Range: E - C**  
 **Development Potential: B**


	4. Sea of Leaves

The mysterious, slender figure stood in the doorway of Jovanni Joestar's and Abel November's hotel room, creeping towards them rather slowly and menacingly as each of its fingers started to glow a dark blue color.

Jovanni Joestar's Stand, Future Heart, materialized within the next moment. It was at least a foot taller than him, its body rather muscular and a sleek black color. Its eyes were bright golden orbs, and its abdomen held an outline of a large golden heart in the center of it. There appeared to be a large shotgun shell embedded inside the golden heart, and there seemed to be several holes in the palms of its hands, its shoulders sharing the same markings.

Abel November's Stand, Humiliation, materialized by his side as well. It was rather tall, far surpassing November's height. Its skin was a dark blue color all throughout its body, which held a gaping maw that stretched from its sternum to its crotch which held rigid teeth within it. It had a steel shackle held around its neck, and long dark blue hair that stretched towards the middle of its back. Along its body seemed to several beads, embedded into its skin which was strangely bruised. Finally, it had three large rings floating around different sections of its body – one placed around its chest, the second placed around its knees, the third – and also the largest – was placed around its hips.

"I have a bad feeling about this! Let's get the fuck out of here, November!" Jovanni shouted as he grabbed his comrade by his hand, his Stand's free fist breaking through the thin glass that shielded them from the outside world. "Get your ass ready!"

Jovanni allowed his Stand to hold its arms around him to attempt to soften the blow he would suffer once he hit the concrete, but he was confident in Future Heart's durability as he jumped. He shut his amber eyes as he did so, only seeing a glimpse of November who had followed in his footsteps.

He grunted once he landed on the concrete, though, thankfully he had not broken any bones like he thought he would. He watched as November landed right beside him with less of an issue, thanks to his Stand's natural durability.

"Alright, we should get the hell out of here before that Stand starts following us! Come on, November!" Jovanni stated as he quickly forced his legs to carry him towards the side of the building, his comrade following just as fast with what seemed to be an irritated look on his face. Jovanni turned around to face him. "What's wrong?"

"You could have said something that would tell me that we were gonna jump! Don't you think we could have just punched that Stand out of the way? It would have made a lot more sense than what you just did!" November complained, groaning as he pinched the bridge of nose. "Really, Jovanni? That was your master escape plan?"

"I had a bad feeling, alright? Its fingers were glowing, so I didn't want it to touch us… besides, its user wasn't anywhere near us from what I saw." Jovanni said, attempting to justify his reckless actions. "The user is probably hiding out somewhere, too…"

"Well, we can discuss that whenever we get the hell away from this hotel. Come on, I see a taxi up ahead!" November told him as he ran towards the sidewalk, waving towards the taxi as he pulled his wallet out from his pocket. "Hey, we would like to catch a ride!"

"Alright, gentlemen. Where to?" The driver asked them, though he tilted his head in confusion once November placed what could only be described as a wad of cash into his hands. "Huh? What's this for?"

"I need to borrow your vehicle for at least an hour, sir. I promise I'll return it!" November told him as he pulled the car door open, slowly removing the man from the driver's seat after doing so. "You can keep the money, just wait here until we get back, alright?"

November did not wait for the man's answer as he jumped into the driver's seat, revving up the engine as Jovanni jumped into the opposite side – he drove the vehicle down the street, his eyes focusing on the road before him.

"Keep an eye out for that Stand, Jovanni! It's probably an automatic, so that means its user is nowhere to be found, just like you told me earlier… we'll probably have to get lucky if we wanna find the user, and besides, for whatever reason, it's trying to kill us. We'll just have to beat it back until its user gives up or until we find the damn bastard!" November commented, making a left turn. "I have an idea, just make sure it doesn't take us down before I get to the beach!"

"Got it!" Jovanni nodded in agreement, rolling down the window which allowed him to stick his head out of it – his amber eyes widened as he saw that the Stand had already exited the Morioh Grand Hotel, its feet slapping against the concrete as it approached the vehicle with ease. "That thing is pretty fucking fast!"

"I, Blues Traveler, will make sure that you perish! Give up, Jovanni Joestar! You cannot escape! I will chase you as long as you continue to breathe!" Blues Traveler shouted, its right hand latching onto the car which it had managed to match the speed of with relative ease.

"How the fuck does this thing know my name?! Get the fuck off the car, shithead!" Jovanni shouted as Future Heart opened its palm to Blues Traveler, several bullets firing into the menacing Stand's skin, though it merely scratched it. "Fuck! That thing is pretty damn bulky!"

"Just keep holding it off until I drive down to the beach, okay?! We're going to drown this motherfucker!" November informed him, which resulted in a thumbs up and a large smirk from Jovanni.

"I don't care how bad you want to kill me, you're going to eat shit by the time I'm done with you! Do you hear me?!" Jovanni taunted it, his Stand repeatedly shooting hot lead at its body – though, it was the same results each time. "Why don't you come closer so I can break your fucking neck!"

Blues Traveler jumped onto the roof of the car, its hand swiftly moving towards Jovanni's neck to try and slice him open – but it was of no use, the Stand user managed to catch Blues Traveler's hand long before its fingers grabbed a hold of his throat.

"Nice try, asshole!" Jovanni chuckled, his Future Heart ramming its fist against Blues Traveler's chin which caused it to pull its hand away from its enemy's iron grip. "Well, November? Are you there yet, or do I have to keep pummeling this fucker for the next thirty minutes?! No matter what I do, it won't stop attacking me!"

"It's an automatic Stand, so it isn't going to stop until it finishes whatever its user's goal is!" November said, grunting as he turned to the right. "Alright, we're almost there! When I give you the signal, punch this fucking thing into the ocean!"

The taxi broke through the gates of the beach, ignoring the sign that had warned any passersby that it was closed. The wheels dug into the sand as he approached the ocean, his fingers sore as he clenched down onto the steering wheel, his eyes focusing on the ocean as he approached.

"NOW, JOVANNI!" November practically screamed as he drove along the beach, driving rather quickly as he saw Jovanni's Stand approach Blues Traveler with sheer ferocity in its sharp movements.

"ORO!" Future Heart shouted as its fist met with Blues Traveler's throat, causing it grunt from the full force of the blow – but there was clearly more where that came from as Future Heart beat its fists rapidly against the inelegant Stand's abdomen, launching it towards the shining ocean. "ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO!"

Blues Traveler yelled as its body rocketed towards its inevitable watery grave – but, however, it managed to turn its body back into place. As if it was magic, it started to run on the surface of the clear ocean like there was never a problem to begin with.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me! That thing can run on water?!" Jovanni shouted in disbelief, pulling his body back inside of the taxi as November drove back towards the gate he had broken. "Son of a shit, what the fuck am I supposed to do now?!"

"I don't know, but try to think of something, Jovanni!" November yelled to his friend as Blues Traveler made a mad dash for the vehicle, its hands reaching out for the back of the taxi. "It's going to crash the car if we can't shake it off!"

"I think I got something!" Jovanni told him, his hand motioning towards the door handle. "Let me out of the car! I'll handle this thing while you try to find the user!"

"What?! We don't know jack shit about the user, how am I supposed to find him on my own?!" November shouted back at Jovanni, sweat rolling down his face. "I can't think of anything myself, but there has to be a better option!"

"I don't think there is! Just trust me, okay?!" Jovanni shouted back at him, slowly leaning towards the door as he spoke. "If you need help, get the police on the case! If someone's missing, I'm sure they'll come to my rescue, and I'm sure as hell that it will scare the shit out of this thing's user!"

"It's not like I can stop you, so go for it! I'll be back here within the hour, Jovanni!" November told him, watching as Jovanni forced the car door open while Future Heart wrapped its arms around him tightly. "Alright, let's see where you are, you piece of dog shit!"

Jovanni grunted as his body met with the pavement, though he would not waste any precious time that had been handed to him – he swiftly turned to the left, dashing into what appeared to be an empty alleyway, aside from the dumpster set up against the brick wall.

"Goddamn it, I'm gonna have a pretty hard time if that Stand can move faster than I can punch!" He told himself, turning around before he entered the road on the opposite end of the alleyway. "Alright, come on!"

Blues Traveler suddenly bolted in front of Jovanni, its fingernails suddenly sinking into his shoulders as their dark, ominous blue aura returned. He grunted in pain before planting his Stand's fist firmly into Blues Traveler's chest, forcing it to pull its fingernails out from his shoulders which had successfully drawn blood.

"Fuck!" Jovanni coughed as he pulled his body away, flinching as his body landed on the solid concrete beneath him – he looked towards Blues Traveler, whose foot had immediately met with his chin. "You better know that you're digging your own grave!"

Jovanni picked himself up after taking the hit to his chin, though he felt his face turn pale once he noticed that he had been thrown into an identical alleyway. He turned to the left, noticing that where there was once a street was now a left turn.

As he attempted to make sense of the situation, he managed to bring his Future Heart's guard up around his neck before Blues Traveler could slice him open once again. He shoved the bony Stand away, looking back towards the corner that had not been present before.

"This is my ability, Jovanni Joestar. With just a touch of my fingertips, I can force you into my looping alleyway, from which there is no escape!" Blues Traveler gloated, crossing its arms as it laughed loudly. "What are you going to do now?!"

"I'm going to teach you a lesson for attacking me like only a coward would." Jovanni snickered, his hands tightening into fists. "I'm gonna beat the shit out of you until you give up, you sorry sack of garbage!"

"You can't beat me, Jovanni Joestar! How do you think your friend, Abel November, is going to help you when he doesn't know just who he's looking for?" Blues Traveler asked tauntingly. "The only way to escape from my ability is if my user decides to set you free or if you die! The second option is the only way you're going to get out of here!"

"He'll get lucky." Jovanni grinned, watching as Blues Traveler launched its lanky body towards Jovanni with its fingers extended – luckily, Future Heart was able to land a solid blow on its finger tips though the enemy Stand did not react to this.

"ORO ORO ORO ORO ORO!" Future Heart yelled as its fists rocketed towards Blues Traveler, who briskly dodged by ducking below the incoming blows. Suddenly, Blues Travelers fingernails dug slightly into Future Heart's abdomen, causing Jovanni to yell out as sharp pain coursed through his flesh.

"Get off, you motherfucker!" Jovanni shouted as Future Heart's fist rammed against the side of Blues Traveler's head, forcing it off of his body. He grunted as he looked down to his shirt, seeing that it had been ripped and slightly stained with fresh blood. "Jesus Christ, you're even faster than Future Heart… this isn't going to be easy…"

Blues Traveler bolted towards Future Heart once more, its fingernails cutting along the Stand's cheek after its arm jutted towards its face – its other arm made its way towards his throat, however, Future Heart was able to grab its wrist and force it away from his vital area.

The lanky Stand jumped backward, its head tilting as it attempted to analyze Jovanni's form. His muscles had become incredibly tense, his amber eyes practically burning into Blues Traveler's skull with a rare ferocity that could only be found in soldiers deployed onto a battle field, knowing that defeat was simply not an option in his current situation.

"You don't know who you're fucking with…" Jovanni murmured, a wide grin spreading across his face as he continued to speak. "Do you really think you're going to kill me with shitty attacks like those? Try harder, you piece of shit."

Blues Traveler sighed, bending its legs as it prepared to launch itself towards Jovanni once again – it would have to take a different route to attack him, since it seemed as if its opponent was dead set on surviving until his friend found its user.

"I know exactly who I am dealing with, Jovanni Joestar. My goal is simple: it's to kill you."

"Then come at me again, you rotten piece of shit!"

* * *

Abel November had parked the taxi in the parking lot of the police station, his hands running down his face as he weighed his options – he could either go on a wild goose chase looking for Blues Traveler's user, which could ultimately lead him nowhere… or, he could lie to the police and possibly get lucky while they searched for Jovanni.

He pushed the car door open, slipping his hands into his pockets as he slowly approached the police station. The fact that he was about to lie was not what he was worried about, he was more so worried that Jovanni would not last against his enemy while he searched for the Stand user.

November pushed the front door to the police station open, ignoring the wandering eyes that locked onto his tall frame. His eyes traveled across the floor before they met with a wooden desk, where the chief appeared to be sitting.

The chief wore what seemed to be an ordinary police uniform with a few modifications spread throughout it. He wore the navy blue uniform above his white dress shirt, which had a sky blue tie attached to hit. On each of his shoulders appeared to be emblems that resembled bright, orange flames. On his hat, which was also a navy blue color, was an emblem that resembled the full moon. Underneath the hat was a set of short black hair styled in a crew cut, his eyes a soft bright green color.

"Hello, sir. My name is Yuuma Harumi, what can I do for you today?" Yuuma asked, extending his hand towards November, who tilted his head as he extended his own hand – the man's voice was rather throaty, which caused him to squint before he tilted his head back into place.

"My name is Abel November, but I'm kind of in a hurry, sir!" November told the chief, sweat sliding down each side of his head as he spoke. "My friend, Jovanni… he's gone missing! I was with him all day, but he just disappeared out of nowhere! I'm really, really worried about him!"

"We can help you find him, sir." One of the police officers said, stepping forward before Yuuma raised one of his hands. "Hm? What is it, sir?"

"It's fine, only one of us will need to go since it isn't anything too insane – besides, I'm the chief here so it's my duty to make sure the citizens of Morioh are safe and sound." Yuuma said, his subordinate nodding in response before he turned towards November. "Alright, if you don't mind, we could take your vehicle around town for your own comfort. How does that sound?"

"Yeah, I'd rather that." November told him before turning around, his feet quickly carrying him back towards the front door. "I'll drive, I think you'd have a better eye if you were able to focus on anything else but the road."

Yuuma nodded, cooperating with November. He stepped towards the taxi that he had parked near the station, the chief shooting a suspicious look towards him before climbing into the passenger seat.

"So, do you have a job here in Morioh? I don't think I've ever seen you around here." Yuuma told him, his eyes analyzing the interior of the vehicle. "It's not a very large town, so I'd be surprised if you've been living here for a while."

"I'm on vacation, is all… that and I have a weird taste in cars, that's what my friends say, at least." November told him, a fake smirk spreading across his lips. "I just bought this car today, since it was in pretty good condition. I think it was a steal."

"Yeah, I think so too. How long do you plan to stay in Morioh?" Yuuma asked as November drove out onto the empty streets. "It's a nice town… with that, do you think you've enjoyed your stay so far, as well?"

"I'm only going to be here for a month or two, maybe." November answered him, his casual demeanor suddenly shifting, his fake smirk twisting into an unimpressed frown. "I have a better question for you, though, Yuuma. Your voice… it sounds kind of odd, like there's an accent. Where are you from? Your accent sounds a little familiar."

At that moment, Yuuma felt his heart freeze inside of his chest – and November did not even bother to look back at him. It was as if the world had stopped turning for the chief, though he could feel his left hand moving towards his service pistol which had been firmly placed inside of its holster.

"Don't try it, asshole." November warned him, but Yuuma did not heed this – he aimed his pistol at the American man, firing it as his Stand materialized by his side. "Alright, I guess you wanna do this the hard way."

Humiliation threw itself in front of November, the hot lead falling into its massive maw. The dark blue Stand wrapped its hand around the police chief's throat tightly, the car stopping in its tracks as November turned to him.

"Damn, I really did get lucky." November laughed, crossing his arms as his eyes burned deep into Yuuma's. "Now, you're going to call off your Stand or I'm going to snap your neck like its a toothpick, you hear me?"

November drove the taxi to where he had dropped off Jovanni, who was sitting by the brick building with blood trickling down his chest. He smiled brightly once he had seen November pull up, wearily inching his way into the backseat before his own Stand materialized once again.

"You got the motherfucker! Well, what the fuck is his problem, then?" Jovanni asked, his Future Heart's fist closing in near Yuuma's face. "You better tell me what the hell your deal is, I have half a mind to beat you to kingdom fucking come."

"Okay, I'll talk!" Yuuma said, tears forming on the edges of his eyes as he started to speak with his thick Russian accent. "I was only following orders from my boss. I'm a former member of Supernova, and she came up with the plan to chase you guys down all the way to Morioh! I've been working here for a few years, but she called me up and told me how we could finally take revenge on two of the fuckers that brought down Vladimir Arkadi's gang! I just… I thought you would be done for if I could split each of you up and take you down like that, but, I was wrong! Please don't kill me!"

"Supernova, huh? You bastards are damn persistent." Jovanni sighed, running a single hand through his long blond hair. "What's your boss's name, and what does her Stand do?"

"Her name is Airi Otoishi… she was a member of Supernova that went to different countries to eliminate any gang that would oppose ours. She's obsessed with following Vladimir's orders, even though he's already dead! Even the Yakuza is scared of her since she's managed to kill a few of their own Stand users… from what I know, she's still in this town, cleaning up family members of the Yakuza members she's killed." Yuuma said, grunting as the grip around his neck only tightened with each passing second. "I swear, I don't know what her Stand does! She used it on my to demonstrate her powers, but I couldn't even tell just what the hell was going on!"

"Alright, I believe you… you're a man with his life on the line, so we have all the information that we could possibly gather from you." Jovanni shrugged, though his Stand's fist met with the side of Yuuma's head, causing the police chief to groan in pain. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to spare you from the beating that you deserve.

"You should know what this means, too." November started, cracking his knuckles as his iron grip completely locked around Yuuma's fragile neck. "That means we can't leave you alive… if we do, both of our lives will be endangered, and this town will be in danger."

"No… NO! PLEASE!"

* * *

Minato Nijimura strolled down the sidewalk after school had finally let out for the day, expecting to meet Yuina Hirose and Joji Kujo at his current destination. It was a rather sunny day, which he had welcomed and the streets seemed to be empty aside from the occasional student that passed by.

He had placed his headphones onto his ears, his fingers tapping along the walkman that he held tightly in his hands, humming as a large smile spread across his face.

"I'm blue, da ba dee, da ba daa…" He hummed, though he slipped his headphones off once he saw that his two friends had been waiting outside of the restaurant for him. He also looked towards the sign, noticing that a sign labeled the Yamagishi Tavern had been placed near the restaurant. "Hey guys!"

"Yo, Minato!" Joji waved towards him, prompting him to run towards his friends after he slipped his headphones off of his head. "We just got here a few minutes ago, and Yuina was just telling me a few things about this place."

"I didn't know much about the restaurant until now, because I had no idea that it was called the Yamagishi Tavern." Yuina started, crossing her arms as she stared at the sign. "There's a boy in my mathematics class named Kenshin Yamagishi. He would leave in the middle of class to go and help his family recently, but I never really knew where he worked… I guess his family opened up a restaurant to try and earn a little more money."

The restaurant itself was moderately sized, being slightly larger than most of the family owned businesses around Morioh. Its walls and doors were a pearly white, the steps leading towards its a stone-like gray. There were two windows, where one could see customers enjoying their meal, as a tables had been set near them.

"It looks pretty damn fancy, too." Minato said, scratching his neck as he turned back towards his friends. "So, who's gonna pay for the bill? I don't think I have enough money in my pockets to pay for anything…"

"We should all chip in, so there's nothing to worry about." Joji told him, turning towards Yuina slowly. "If you see Yamagishi in there, I'd like to meet him if he isn't too busy. Does that sound alright to you?"

"Yeah, that sounds good! I'm glad you're so welcome to meeting your peers, Joji!" Yuina told him happily, removing her wallet from her leather binder before proceeding towards the front doors of the restaurant. "Let's go in already, guys!"

Yuina pushed the front doors open, soon staring in awe as she looked upon the interior of the restaurant, her friends soon doing the same. The floors were spotless with bright white tiles, the dining area had at least a dozen tables that were covered by soft, bright white cloth, and only three of the tables had been filled completely. There were several lights hanging from the ceiling, and the kitchen door was at the very end of the room.

"Hello, Yuina!" A silvery, excited and familiar voice called to the young student. "I don't think I've ever seen you around here before. Is this your first time here?"

Yuina turned to see a rather tall, but lean student that she had known as Kenshin Yamagishi. He wore the basic high school uniform, which was merely a dark blue button-up shirt, though there had been bandages wrapped tightly around the sleeves, the same with his pant legs. He had semi-long black hair that touched each side of his face, some of it even touching the back of his neck.

"Oh, hey Kenshin!" Yuina bowed as he did the same, a bright smile spreading across her face. "I've never been here before, but my friend Minato Nijimura wanted to check this place out. Have you met him and Joji Kujo yet?"

"I don't know either of them, but Minato certainly has good taste if he wanted to come here." Kenshin said, bowing to Minato quickly. "Thank you for bringing my family's business more customers, sir. That was very kind of you."

"Oh, it's no problem!" Minato bowed as well, laughing a little before he turned to Joji, who had been standing close to Yuina. "This guy has no idea what American food is like either, so he really wanted to give it a try!"

"I see!" Kenshin nodded, extending his hand towards Joji. "So, pardon me for asking this, but you are not Josuke Kujo, correct? You look incredibly similar to him, so I need to know so I don't offend you."

"That's pretty nice of you. You can just call me Joji, don't worry about being professional with me at all." Joji told him, firmly shaking his hand before he pulled his hand away. "It's nice to meet you."

"It's very nice to meet you, as well." Kenshin nodded, directing the three students towards a table near the kitchen door, which had three menus sitting on it. "I'll be your waiter as well. I'll go retrieve your orders once you tell me what you would like."

The three sat down at the table, traversing through the menus. Joji soon set the menu down, throwing one of his arms over the wooden chair before he spoke. "I think I'll just have something simple, like a cheeseburger… how about you guys?"

"I'll just take what he's having!" Minato said, setting his menu down as he crossed one leg over the other. "I'm really excited, I'm sure it's gonna be fucking great!"

"I'll have the usual, I think! It'll help me get a good idea just what this place is like!" Yuina told Kenshin, rubbing her hands together excitedly. "If that's possible, Kenshin!"

"It most certainly is, I'll return with your food in just a few minutes!" Kenshin told them before slipping towards the kitchen door, leaving the three students be as he made his way towards the refrigerator in the dark room. "Alright…"

Suddenly, a seven foot tall, lean figure stood behind Kenshin Yamagishi. It appeared to be rather androgynous, as well. Its body was a lime green color, its face holding two bright green orbs which were set above a perpetually shut mouth. Thin red lines ran throughout the entirety of its tall frame, forming several octagons as the lines intertwined with one another. In one of its hands appeared to be a sharp kitchen knife, the other empty.

Kenshin Yamagishi allowed a sinister grin to cross his lips as his Stand's arms reached around his body, almost comfortingly.

"Let's get to cooking then, Soilwork."

A matter of five minutes had passed before Kenshin Yamagishi had returned from the kitchen and he had noted that the other customers had taken their leave and left their payment on their tables. He handed Joji and Minato their plates and drinks, he then slipped the third plate to Yuina, which seemed to hold a rather simple salad that looked absolutely foreign to her eyes – lettuce with some ranch dressing on the side, with an entire assortment of vegetables among other things placed along it and inside it.

"Oh, thank you! That was really fast, too!" Yuina said before grabbing one of the forks to her side, watching as her friends had immediately started to dig in. "How much do you think this will be?"

"Just around one thousand yen, Yuina. Enjoy your meal!" He told her before he backed up towards the wall, watching as Yuina started to dig away at her meal. "I made yours a little special."

Yuina felt like the world warped around her after she swallowed the food, her eyes instantly attaching to Kenshin's. A sly grin crossed his face, ignoring the other two who were already half-way through their meals.

"Wow, Kenshin! You can cook _and_ you're pretty cute!" Yuina said, practically staring at Kenshin with wide eyes as a bright blush spread across her face. "I've never noticed that before! Do you wanna go on a date sometime?"

"I would be honored." Kenshin told her, bowing his head slightly – his smirk faded as he saw that Joji's half-violet, half-blue eyes practically burn into his skull. "Hm? What is it, Joji Kujo?"

"Something funny is happening here." Joji replied, squinting at Kenshin as he stepped out from his seat. "Just what the hell kind of joke do you think you're pulling here?"

"Was the food not to your liking, sir?" Kenshin asked, his tone becoming rather terse. "I can whip up something new, if you would like."

"No, that's not it… it's pretty fucking good, I'll give you that much." Joji complimented, his fist shaking as he stepped closer to the chef. "What did you put in Yuina's food, you shithead? She was treating you like a buddy, but now she's acting like she's gonna marry you all of a sudden! You can't tell me that's normal!"

"Joji, calm down! I mean, that isn't such a bad idea, you know? He's just a super sweet guy…" Yuina said in an attempt to convince Joji to back off, fawning over Kenshin all the while. "So you should step off, stop acting like a jerk!"

"Yes, you should stop acting like a barbarian in my restaurant before I ban you." Kenshin told him, raising a finger before Joji suddenly grabbed him by his collar. "What do you think you're doing?!"

"I'm going to pound that pretty face of yours to dust if you don't tell me what the fuck is up!" Joji said, lifting Kenshin into the air as his Philosopher King manifested. "Are you surprised, motherfucker?"

"No… damn it, you're a Stand user?" Kenshin murmured, his own Stand suddenly phasing into existence, its hands pushing down on the enemy's iron grip. "You don't know what I can do, Joji Kujo."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" Joji asked before slowly putting Kenshin back onto the bright marble floor, blood rapidly pumping through his body as anger built up in his brain. "You're just going to give me an excuse to not send you to the hospital!"

"Listen to me and listen well, Joji Kujo." Kenshin started as he leaned in towards Joji's ear. "You don't know what my Stand does aside from what you have witnessed, correct? For all you know, I could have poisoned her and I could kill her at any time… so, Joji Kujo, you let me have my fun and your precious friend might be safe."

"You're a dirty, crooked bastard." Joji grunted, seething as he slowly loosened his grip. "Why the hell are you doing this to her of all people, you creepy asshole?"

"Because I'm in love with her." Kenshin snickered before his Soilwork's fist met with Joji's gut, causing the latter to cough as spit flew out from his unexpected mouth. "Now, stay quiet and be a good boy."

Joji attempted to get a good look at Yuina, who only looked towards Kenshin with a bright smile – no matter what, he could not attack. He had to make sure Yuina was safe, even though he had no real way of knowing what Soilwork's real ability was.

"Do what you want to me, but…" Joji panted as he took a hard slap to the side of the face, though he did not dare to summon his Stand to protect himself. "If you lay a single fucking finger on her, I'll make you wish you never fucking met me."

"I already wish I never met you." Kenshin shrugged, his Soilwork delivering a swift kick to his side which sent him towards the door. "And never come back here again."

"What the fuck are you doing to Joji, you piece of rotten shit?!" Minato shouted as Manawar suddenly phased by his side. "I'm going to cave your skull in if you try and hit him again-"

"MINATO! DON'T!" Joji shouted as he slowly picked himself up, holding onto the door knob as he panted heavily. "Let's just leave. His Stand did some shitty things to Yuina, but we don't know what else it does… the only thing we can really do right now, is to just leave."

"I… okay, if you're sure, Joji." Minato told him with a nod, though he flipped Kenshin off before he left the restaurant doors with his friend. "Dumb motherfucker, he'll get what's coming to him, I swear to god…"

Kenshin grinned, soon scooping up each of their plates before he stared back at Yuina. "Those brutes didn't even pay their bill… well, that isn't much of a surprise, seeing what they tried to do to me."

"I'm sorry about that! They just can't see what a great guy you are, Kenshin!" Yuina told him before she jumped out of her seat, wrapping one of her arms around one of his despite the fact that he was attempting to carry the dishes back to the kitchen. "Don't worry about those jerks!"

Kenshin chuckled as he kicked the kitchen door open. "Ah well, you're completely right. Anyway, where do you think we should go for our date tomorrow?"

* * *

Minato had made his way back to his home, after which Joji had started heading towards his. He had no idea how he was going to fight off Kenshin, but all he knew was that it had to be unexpected and that was it.

Joji sighed before he bumped into a slightly taller man, mumbling a weak "I'm sorry" before he continued to stumble along the road, though whoever it was he bumped into had placed his hand on their shoulder.

"You seem a little down, kid." Jovanni stated, a look of genuine concern crossing his face as he frowned. "What's going on? You're just staring at your feet like you just got the shit beat out of you."

"What do you care? I just bumped into you, it's no big deal, it's just a shitty day." Joji replied with a roll of his eyes, starting to walk away from the older man. "You're just a stranger, so I shouldn't be talking to you."

"Ha, you got a pretty good point there, kid." Jovanni laughed lightly before grabbing him by his shoulder against after he pulled a tiny slip of paper out from his pocket. "Call me if you need to talk. I know that look on your face all too well, plus… there's just something odd about you, I can't put my finger on it… anyway, see ya!"

Joji shoved the slip of paper into his pocket before he started to walk away, lifting his head up as he shrugged. "Well, at least he was nice enough to try and talk to me… what a weird guy, though, stopping by to talk to a high school student."

* * *

Later that night, Yuina stepped out from the bathroom in her house. She felt sweat pouring down her face as she started to collect her thoughts, quickly making her way to her room so she could sit on her bed to make sense of it all.

"After I ate his food, I feel like… everything just completely changed. Is this a Stand ability?" Yuina asked herself, biting down on one of her fingernails as she shivered. "He didn't do anything to me, so that's good, I don't think he's that kind of sicko. But, he has to know about his Stand's weakness, right? If he doesn't, then, well… he won't be expecting what happens tomorrow."

Yuina sighed heavily as she laid down on her bed, staring up at her ceiling as the sound of crickets chirping entered her ears. She leaned over and shut her window, attempting to escape the thought of what had happened earlier that day.

"I feel so awful that I only sat and watched while he beat the crap out of Joji… I'm going to have to call him, right now and explain. I won't let Kenshin do this to me again!" Yuina told herself, somewhat choking up as she recalled Joji's anger and disappointment. "Stop crying, I need to call him…"

Yuina had swiftly dialed Joji's number into her cellphone, tapping her toes against her floor impatiently as she waited for him to answer her call – which he had done only a few moments later.

"Hello, Yuina? What is it?" Joji asked, his voice still somewhat somber.

"Joji, after I went to the, uh… restroom, I realized just what happened earlier today!" Yuina explained, losing her breath as she did so. "It doesn't seem like he knows that his Stand has a weakness, he probably only thinks it disappears if he sets that person free from his control!"

"So you have to shit his ability out, huh? Well, it's a relief that you're okay, I was… really, really worried about you." Joji told her, clearly worried. "Do I need to go and teach him a lesson tomorrow? No one should be able to fuck with my friend like that."

"No, I can handle him, don't you worry! If you beat him up, it'll only make him more determined in whatever he wants to do with me." Yuina said, one hundred percent sure of herself. "I'll slap some sense into him if I have to, but don't worry from now on, okay?"

"Well, I'll… I won't lie, I'll probably follow you after school tomorrow to make sure he doesn't do anything shitty." Joji said with honesty.

"I guess there's nothing I can do that would convince you to just leave it to me, but, alright. Just keep your distance, okay? That's all I ask of you." Yuina told him, grinning as she pressed her back against the wall of her bedroom. "I'm glad you're looking out for me, though… you're acting a lot like Koichi. He would always get protective of me."

"Is that right? Makes sense to me." Joji replied, laughing a little. "Well, I need to get some sleep before school tomorrow. I'll talk to you after your date with him… just, where are you going, again?"

"We're going to the park, just hide behind one of the trees or something… well, goodnight, Joji."

"Night."

* * *

Yuina had made her way to Morioh's park after school had let out, and she had barely spoken with any of her friends that day. She managed to squeeze out a "hello" to Joji before he moved away, but she had assumed it was so Kenshin would not discover his control over her had faded over time.

The park was mostly empty aside from a few citizens that were jogging around the premise, which was fairly empty. There were several trees, a few steel benches, and a laid out field where people would be able to play different kinds of games.

Yuina had managed to spot Kenshin who had been sitting on one of the steel benches, his face soon turning to her once she had taken a seat right next to him. He had a lunchbox in his lap, that must have been meant for her. At least, that's what she had assumed.

"Hey there, Yuina! You're here right on time!" Kenshin grinned, pushing the lunchbox into her lap. "I made something special for you again!"

"Oh, thanks, but I'm not very hungry right now." Yuina told him, which had resulted in him raising one of his eyebrows in response to this. "There's something I really want to talk to you about, though, Kenshin."

"What's that?" Kenshin asked, his eyes gluing themselves onto Yuina as she silently turned to face him, her eyes quivering slightly as a frown spread across her face. "What's going on with you today, Yuina?"

"Why did you use your Stand on me, Kenshin? You had to know the extent of your ability, but you tried to use it to make me… fall in love with you." Yuina sighed deeply before pushing the boxed lunch out of her lap, standing up. "Why would you do that?!"

"My Stand… oh, I see. Soilwork can conjure up food that makes anyone who digests fall in love with me or obsess over me, if I so choose. It's natural that once the food leaves your system, you'd return back to normal… an oversight on my part." Kenshin returned the boxed lunch back to his lap, staring down at his feet. "I just really, really like you. There's no real reason to it, I just do."

"Next time, just ask me out and you would have had a shot." Yuina told him as she stepped in front of him, prompting him to look up at her. "But you ruined any chance you could have had, sorry, Kenshin."

"But…" Kenshin was cut off as Yuina slapped him across the right side of his face, though he merely stared back down at his feet. "Right. I won't try anything else, then… see you later, then?"

"Yeah. Bye Kenshin, and don't you ever hurt my friends ever again." Yuina told him coldly, stomping away which left Kenshin in his lonesome.

"I'll still be watching… because, I can't just let go after that! I swear to whatever god is out there, I'll make you mine, Yuina Hirose…" Kenshin murmured to himself, a tall shadow casting over him. "Hm? Who is it?"

"Who else?" Joji said, grinning as he watched Kenshin stare up at him in fear. "You're a lying, piece of shit motherfucker."

"Go away, Joji Kujo. What the hell do you even want now, I've been beaten… are you just so in love with her that you'll do anything to help her out?" Kenshin asked him, which only resulted in him shaking his head. "Then why did you go to such lengths to make sure she was not harmed by my Soilwork?"

"Because she's like a sister to me." Joji said, his Stand soon materializing by his side. "And I don't like it when people fuck with my family. You got it?"

"DORARARARARARA!" Philosopher King screamed before Kenshin could respond, its fists beating against his abdomen at least a dozen times before sending him flying away from the steel bench. "DORA!"

"I'd be lying if I said a few of those hits weren't just for me." Joji admitted, his Stand fading away as he made his way out of the park. "Let that be your lesson to not toy with people's emotions, you asshole. If you ever try anything like this ever again, I'll make sure that most of your bones are broken."

* * *

Later that night, a certain Airi Otoishi exited the police station, looking quite annoyed as she started to traverse the dark streets of Morioh. It was an even quieter town at night, which allowed her to clearly vent her frustrations.

"I can't believe that Yuuma got himself killed, and I was so sure that his Stand was unbeatable if he used it properly." Airi murmured to herself, rubbing her chin as she kicked at the concrete beneath her in frustration. "Goddamn it, what a useless fuck. If you want a job, you might as well do it yourself, I guess!"

She stopped in her tracks as she started to think of her targets – her mind brought her back to the Nijimura household, which was an easy job for her to accomplish but half of it had gone unfinished due to the unexpected crowd.

"There's that Minato Nijimura, Joji Kujo, and Yuina Hirose… all I know is that the Joji kid managed to see what I look like from behind before I managed to escape. He managed to bring the daughter of an unrivaled Yakuza member to their knees, so he probably isn't a joke even if he is young." Airi whispered to herself, staring up at the clear night sky before grinning. "That's it, then… I'll dispose of him first and then his friends. They'll be easier targets than Jovanni Joestar and Abel November, it'll be some much needed practice, too."

Airi chuckled as she continued to walk, her fingers rubbing against her palms as her chuckling started to turn into outright loud laughing – if anyone were to see her, they would have stopped and given her an awkward stare.

"Those kids have no idea just what kind of hell they've forced upon themselves. I'll make sure they know not to fuck with the last member of Supernova, Airi Otoishi and her Stand, Intruder!"

* * *

Outside the city limits appeared to be a limousine driving towards the city's entrance, a feminine figure sitting right by the window though her face was obscured by the darkness of the night.

"So, this is the town where the infamous Wall-Eyes were born… maybe I'll meet some bizarre people here, it might prove to be fruitful." She murmured to herself, crossing one leg over the other. "Morioh will be surprised when no one other than the infamous actor, Tsubaki Kishibe, visits their town!"

* * *

 **Name: Minato Nijimura**  
 **Age: 16**  
 **Stand: Manawar**  
 **Stand statistics**  
 **Destructive Power: B**  
 **Speed: C**  
 **Durability: B**  
 **Precision: D**  
 **Range: D**  
 **Development Potential: C**


	5. Fear

It was around ten in the morning at Budo-Ga Oka High School, and Joji Kujo had been sitting in his desk with one leg crossed over the other, his eyes barely focusing on the white board. It had been a long school week, and he could not wait until he could leave and sleep all day once he had arrived home, as he had not slept incredibly well.

Yuina Hirose sat next to him, and had been finishing up her homework for her next class even though the current one had not yet started. Their teacher, dressed in black suit and tie, stepped into the classroom with a slightly smaller figure beside him as he stepped behind his desk.

"Class, I would like to introduce you to a familiar face that's going to be joining you!" The teacher said, his own voice quaking from the excitement resounding throughout his body before he pointed to the female student that had been standing beside him. "Say hello to Tsubaki Kishibe!"

The new student, Tsubaki Kishibe, was around five feet and nine inches tall. She had long, blonde hair that stretched down towards the very bottom of her back. She wore a uniform that was identical to the male student's, which was a bright violet color, and on each shoulder was a black emblem that resembled the letter R, as well as one on her chest. She wore a pair of black leather gloves, which matched her black leather boots that covered the entirety of her legs.

The class started to speak so loudly that Joji could barely hear himself think, and even Yuina was taken aback by the sudden addition to their school. Joji ran a hand down his face before the teacher had told the class to quiet down, which gave Tsubaki Kishibe a moment to speak.

"I'm very glad to join you in your classes, to tell you the truth! I'm going to be staying in Morioh, so I can study a few people to try and improve my acting technique. Just act like I've always been here!" Tsubaki bowed to her new classmates, though she paused once she saw that Joji had raised a single hand as he stared at her. "Hm? What is it?"

"Who are you?" Joji asked her, which resulted in the classroom falling silent almost instantly and the young woman's face to turn pale. "I'm sorry, did I kill someone or something? I honestly have no clue who you are."

"That… can't be possible! You're joking, right?" Tsubaki asked him, but Joji only shook his head in response to her question. "Do you live under a rock or something, or do you just not watch television?"

"Joji, Tsubaki Kishibe is a really famous actor here in Japan! She's been a rising star ever since she appeared on her mother's reality show when she was a little girl!" Yuina told him, which earned her a small smile from Tsubaki. "But… well, I guess it does make sense that you don't know who she is."

"Yeah, but thanks for the info anyway, Yuina." Joji replied, but he kept his eyes on Tsubaki before extending one of his hands towards her own. "My name is Joji Kujo, it's nice to meet you!"

"It's nice to meet you too, you can just call me Tsubaki. I want to talk to you later." She told him as she shook his hand firmly, squeezing it for a moment before she made her way to an empty desk near the opposite end of the classroom. "Sorry, sir. You can get to teaching now."

Despite the teacher nodding in response, all of the students surrounding Tsubaki had attempted to start a conversation with her, which lasted around five minutes before the teacher managed to break them up so he could begin the day's lesson.

The time passed rather slowly for Joji, just as he had expected – but he had found relief when lunch came around the corner, and he had started to eat with Yuina, and his friend, Minato Nijimura who had managed to find them among the crowd that was still waiting for their food.

"Hey, Joji." A familiar voice said, prompting Joji to turn around to see that it was Tsubaki Kishibe that had started to speak to him. "Do you mind if I sit with you and your friends for a few minutes?"

"Uh, sure, I don't mind at all." Joji told her, his eyes following the woman before she sat down on the seat that was directly opposite of his own. "What's up, Tsubaki?"

"You're acting pretty casual for someone who's meeting a celebrity!" Tsubaki laughed, setting her tray down before she leaned forward. "How is it that you've never heard of me? Do you not watch television or movies in your free time, Joji?"

"I just hang out with my friends, I guess. I've honestly never heard your name before in my life, as far as I can remember." Joji told her, managing to avoid telling her that he had lost his memories – though, she leaned back in her chair after he spoke. "Hm?"

"That has to be impossible, though! I'm one of the most famous actors in Japan, you've had to hear my name sometime in your life and remember it!" Tsubaki replied, her fingers interlocking with each other. "You're a very peculiar person, Joji Kujo… if you don't mind, I'm going to start asking you a few questions while I'm on vacation here."

"Before you do that, do you think you could give me your autograph?" Minato asked as he slowly pulled what appeared to be a photo of Tsubaki Kishibe from his pocket, sliding it towards her. "I'll try and get one for my friend, Yamato, too!"

"Speaking of Yamato, I don't think I've seen him in class today." Yuina said, worried as she shifted her gaze all around the crowded cafeteria. "Maybe he's just helping his mom out again, today. I wish he would have told us something, though."

"I'm sure he's fine, he's probably just really busy." Joji told her, turning to Tsubaki as he started to pry into his food. "Alright, go ahead and shoot a few questions at me, if you want. I'm ready."

"Alright, thank you for your cooperation! Well, first of all…"

* * *

Yamato Kawajiri set down a basket of newly watched clothes on the table that was beside where his mother typically stood to talk with customers, silently watching as a man picked up the basket and carried it out the front door.

His mother had started a dry cleaning and laundry service in Morioh several years ago, when Yamato was only seven years old. He had been helping her out with work ever since he had turned thirteen, without the help of a father or any siblings.

It was almost one in the afternoon, which meant that his shift was coming to an end. He quickly wrote a note for his mother and set it on the counter before moving towards the front door, his leather binder in hand.

 _I think I'm going to go ahead and buy some groceries before I head home_ _to try and get some sleep._ Yamato thought to himself as he pulled his cellphone out from his pocket, scrolling through his contacts to see Joji Kujo's number. _I'll call him later… mom rushed me into work so I haven't had a chance to tell any of them what's been going on._

Yamato stopped in his tracks as his eyes shot downward once he felt a strange tugging sensation on his shirt collar, prompting him to move to grab it – though, the tugging suddenly ended as his ears perked slightly. Did he just hear the sound of footsteps hitting the pavement? He was unsure of what had happened, but he only looked to the left and to the right before he continued to walk down the street.

"That was weird." He whispered to himself, looking down at his collar for another moment as he continued on. "Oh well, whatever it was, I can't do much about it. There would be no point in freaking out."

Several feet away from Yamato was a young man standing by the water fountain in the middle of the town square. He had been dressed in all loose, black clothing which was a single hoodie above a black t-shirt, black baggy pants, black shoes and a black hat that rested on his head. Throughout the shirt appeared to be several white dots, which spread towards his pants well. On his hat appeared to be a large star, which was a mix of several different colors.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and looked towards Yamato, who had continued on his way while his left eye twitched in annoyance. He slipped back for a moment as his body seemed to instantly fade from reality, though he knew exactly what was happening.

 _He noticed that I was trying to grab him, that isn't normal… and I don't know why, but I felt a chill run down my spine once I did._ He thought to himself, scratching his head as he started to silently follow the young man from behind. _Not only that, but my hand phased right through that strange looking button on his shirt… is this kid a Stand user or something? Even then, I didn't think he'd be able to tell what I was doing so quickly while Stardust was active. He just got lucky… he won't get home with all of his money intact while Daisuke Souma has anything to say about it._

Yamato continued to walk through the streets while Daisuke followed from close behind, his hands slowly reaching out to him even as the young man turned a corner. He had to wait for the appropriate moment so Yamato would not expect him to come around the corner, as he was certain that the student had to be on edge after their first encounter.

 _I have to do it right now!_ Daisuke thought to himself before grabbing Yamato by his arm and shoving him against the wall, yanking his binder out from his grip before making a mad dash for an enormous building so he could safely look through the student's belongings.

"What just happened?" Yamato asked himself as he watched his binder float into the middle of the air, his feet carrying him over to his luggage as it approached what he knew as Morioh's mall. "It's just floating there all by itself, it seems… this has to be the work of a Stand! But why would someone just take my stuff?"

Yamato shoved his way through the front doors of the mall once he had managed to carry himself to it, looking towards the elevator to see his binder floating in mid-air. Just as the elevator closed, he ran for the stairwell, determined to catch whoever it was that had attempted to steal his school supplies.  
 _They are going to head towards the roof, I'm sure of it. They'll probably get there before me, since there's a separate staircase near the elevator on the top floor! They definitely to be able to look through whatever goods they think that's in there without any of the people in the mall getting too suspicious!_ Yamato thought to himself as his legs grew tired the harder he ran up the staircase, his hand holding onto the railing so he would not slip and fall.

At least half a minute passed before Yamato made his way to the roof, panting heavily as he saw that his luggage was sitting on the ground, some of his notebooks sprawled out across the roof. Without any caution whatsoever, he stepped towards his binder without looking behind him.

Behind him had been a sharp blade that was being held in Daisuke's grasp, and he would have went to attack the young man already, but there was a problem – there was a strange, unfamiliar, paralyzing fear that was coursing throughout every single bone within his body.

 _I didn't even get to look through most of his shit, and… there was nothing! But, why the fuck am I so scared of this brat? I can't even move!_ Daisuke thought to himself as he clenched both of his fists, his feet refusing to move as Yamato placed his belongings back into his binder. _I can't take it any more! I have to do something!_

Suddenly, Daisuke dropped his disguise as well as the blade that had been in his tight iron grip which caused Yamato to turn around from the slight 'clang' the knife had made against the roof. Yamato looked rather bored despite the revelation.

"Just… take your shit and leave. I don't want to fuck with you any more, just go!" Daisuke yelled at him, his heart beating rapidly in his chest as he backed away from Yamato. "What the hell is your problem, why are you so fucking scary?"

"It's just what my Stand does… it takes what fear I would feel and gives it to somebody else." Yamato said with a small chuckle, sighing heavily afterwards. "Ha, that's kind of pathetic, huh? You're just a stranger, but I'm making you feel something that you have no right to feel. You weren't even going to stab me, were you? You just wanted to look scary… this is the fear that's been settling inside of me ever since you stole my stuff. I'll assume that your Stand makes you invisible too, am I right?"

"You're a freak, kid! Just go!" Daisuke shouted at him once again before falling to his knees, feeling as if he was going to burst into tears as his hands moved across the solid surface of the roof. "Get the hell out of my sight!"

"Alright, then. Once I leave, you'll probably stop being so afraid… so you better not come after my stuff again if you don't want to feel this way." Yamato told him as he made his way towards the open door before he turned his head back towards the cowering Daisuke. "And just so you know, I had nothing of real worth in my binder. You did this to yourself."

Daisuke watched as Yamato left him alone, the fear inside of his heart soon fading after a minute had passed. He soon sat up, looking towards the now shut door.

"That kid was fucking freaky as shit."

* * *

Yamato had managed to make his way back home safely, carefully placing the groceries in the fridge before he made his way back into his own room. Silently, he curled up onto his bed as the silver button on his uniform faded, tears almost instantly flowing from his eyes as his fingers gripped his arms.

"I can't even believe that happened, oh my god…" Yamato murmured to himself, his voice shaking from the fear within him. "If I had just gone to school, none of that would have happened, but no! I had to be an idiot and make the worst decision I could."

He would lay there, silent, for the next few minutes – the only sound anyone would be able to hear come out of him would be a quiet sob, though he soon came to a realization as he slowly sat up on his bed.

"I need to stop relying on my Stand, I need to stop relying on my friends so much…" He told himself, staring down at his feet as he kicked his shoes off. "I need to find a way to stop being so scared without Lech, so maybe I can try and stand up for myself. I'm just a burden to my friends if I can't fight without it, so I need to think of something…"

Yamato murmured to himself as he slipped back into his bed, his eyes soon closing as he allowed his mind to fall away from the world so he could gain some well-deserved rest.

* * *

Jovanni Joestar sat back in his rather large bed in the hotel room, having paid for the shattered window before the day had transformed into the night. He felt an uncomfortable weight on his chest, looking towards November who was merely staring out the window of their new room.

"I'm glad that we were able to convince them that breaking the window was only an accident, but I still feel pretty damn bad about it." Jovanni said with a brief sigh, scratching the back of his head. "I just don't feel right, and it isn't the guilt, either, since we were relocated to a new room while they repair that window."

"Yeah, something's been eating away at me, too." November told him, frowning as he turned towards his comrade. "That Airi Otoishi woman that the Yuuma guy told us about… she hasn't even made a move yet, and it's making me a little unsettled. Supernova was never about long, drawn-out plans so waiting for something to come and happen to us is becoming a bit weird."

"You're right, and we don't exactly know what she looks like… now that I think about it, fuck! We should have asked that guy what she looks like before we killed him!" Jovanni groaned loudly, his palm smacking against his face. "I guess we'll end up finding out if she really does come for us, and doesn't act like a total coward."

"Hm… well, there's not much we can do now except wait. If she knows what each of our Stands are like, then she may not have much trouble with getting around our abilities, even if they are rather straight forward." November replied to him, rubbing his chin. "Yuuma didn't even know what her Stand was, so let's just wait and see."

"Yeah, but it's not like we have a goddamn choice."

* * *

Airi Otoishi blew smoke out from her lips as she walked through the city at night, her destination within her sight as she chuckled – she flicked her cigarette onto the road, crushing it with her shoe as she moved forward, a large grin plastered onto her face.

"I think it's about time to move out."

* * *

 **Name: Yamato Kawajiri  
** **Age: 16  
** **Stand: Lech  
Stand statistics**  
 **Destructive Power: None**  
 **Speed: A**  
 **Durability: A**  
 **Precision: None**  
 **Range: D**  
 **Development Potential: D**


	6. Old Scars

It was eight in the evening, and Morioh was just as silent as ever. The choke-hold that the quiet had around the town's neck was not going to be released anytime soon, as progress still had to be made on finding the missing citizens in the earthquake's path of destruction.

Joji Kujo sat in the kitchen, staring down at his plate of leftovers as he poked it with his fork without even bothering to lift a single piece of the food into his mouth. He looked towards his mother, Tomoko Kujo, who had been leaning back in her chair and reading a book, her mind unaware of her surroundings.

Tomoko Kujo was a rather slender woman, and she was a few inches shorter than her son. Her short dark brown hair had been pushed past her ears, allowing her small earrings to be seen which held some sort of gemstone that dangled from each one. She wore a light orange button-up shirt, its sleeves extending all the way down to her wrists, which matched with her white dress pants.

"So, uh… how's work been going for you?" Joji squeezed the question out from his throat, setting his silverware back down onto the plate with a sigh. "We haven't really talked much, but, Jomei said it would help if I tried to talk to you."

Tomoko set her book down onto her lap, her eyes appearing to be somewhat cloudy as she looked towards Joji, a small frown plastered onto her face. "It stings that you're only talking to me because your father asked you to, but, I'll talk to you. Work has been decent, pretty slow, though… how about school? Have you made any friends?"

Joji could feel the tense, awkward air settle around the space between him and his so-called mother. He had felt his mind drift away after her question, his half-violet half-dark blue eyes focusing on her own set of eyes.

"Uh… sorry, I have no idea how I'm supposed to talk to you." Joji apologized, rubbing his now sweating face. "It's alright, I have a few friends. On top of that, some actor started talking to me about my life, among other things. It felt like I was being backed into a corner, because she wouldn't leave me alone.."

"That's good, I'm glad to hear that you even made friends with Tsubaki!" Tomoko said with a forced grin, which disappeared in a matter of seconds. "Have… have you been able to remember anything, Josuke?"

"Stop calling me Josuke, that's not my name now." Joji crossed his arms, looking straight at her as his kind demeanor suddenly dissipated. "I still can't remember anything, but I'm starting to get a grip on just a few things lately. Adjusting to this town was easier than I thought it would be, so I'm grateful that you're taking care of me."

Tomoko felt a hard lump rising within her throat. "Can't you just try and talk to me like I'm your mother? You won't even call your own father by his name, and you look so similar to Josuke. Please, can't you try?!"

"Can't you make an effort to try and see that I'm struggling, too?! For the love of god, let me be until I can sort everything out!" Joji shouted at her, clenching his fists before he managed to turn away from the woman. "I'm gonna go outside."

Without waiting for another word from Tomoko, he made his way to the front door and pushed it open, breathing in the cool night air as he stepped into the yard. He could see that his supposed father, Jomei Kujo, who had his hands shoved in his pocket and his eyes locked onto Joji's.

"I heard you yelling, and I was about to come in so I could see what was going on." Jomei said, watching as Joji cautiously approached him. "I should have known that it would be unlikely that you and your mother… I mean, that you and Tomoko would get along. Can you fill me in on what happened exactly?"

"Don't worry about it, she just kept trying to make me believe I'm her son." Joji rolled his eyes, rubbing his hands together once he stood by the man's side. "I was just trying to strike up some sort of conversation, but, maybe I should have known it would've ended up that way."

"Hey, don't beat yourself up for trying to be friendly. I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes, to be completely honest." Jomei slid an arm around the student's shoulders, pulling him a bit closer. "I need to know something, though. Do you really like it here, Joji? If you don't, I can try to work something out so you can live in apartment in town."

"What? No, I want to live here with you guys!" Joji said, breaking away from the closeness that he was sharing with the older man – he had been treating him like he was his own son, that much was clear and it had unsettled Joji just slightly. "You don't have to treat me like I'm family, but I appreciate everything you've been doing for me, Jomei. If I moved out, I'd have to get a job and everything. Do you want me to leave or something?"

"Not at all, not at all!" Jomei shook his head, placing a hand on Joji's shoulder. "I just want you to be happy while you stay here and try to get back up on your feet, that's really all I want to see. I hope that it doesn't bother you too much."

"It's just that you're treating me like I'm your son, that's what's bothering me!" Joji admitted. "What I want is for you two to treat me like I'm a friend of yours. Is that so much to ask?"

"I can try my best, Joji." Jomei nodded, extending his hand towards the young man. "I want you to shake my hand. I respect your wishes, Joji, and I only want you to be happy while you're staying here."

Joji shook Jomei's hand firmly, but as he did so he could feel a strange though familiar feeling resonating throughout the yard – he could see several black figures that passed by him slowly, his ears ringing as he tried to collect himself, his Philosopher King soon materializing by his side.

"ORA!" An unfamiliar shout resounded from Jomei, which forced Joji to turn towards him and see his Stand, Deaf Havana, now guarding him from what looked to be a rather familiar feminine figure. "ORA ORA ORA!"

Deaf Havana's first two blows narrowly missed, but the third blow landed a solid hit on the woman's gut which caused her to back up slightly. The blurriness and the noise soon faded, leaving Joji to simply stare at the woman.

"It's you!" Joji shouted, which caused Jomei's eyes to widen and look towards the student. "What the fuck do you think you're doing here?!"

"How in the hell did you see through my Intruder's ability, old man?" Airi questioned him before jumping back, a slender figure materializing by her side as she grunted. "I came to kill you, you little bastard! But I didn't expect your older friend here to have a Stand of his own!"

Intruder was a six foot tall figure that floated around Airi, making circles around her. Its body was a dark gray, with several lighter gray lines running throughout it. On its face was merely what appeared to be a circular window, the rest of its body featureless aside from several red and blue dots that had been scattered all throughout its torso, legs, and feet which would blink repeatedly.

"You already attacked my son once, I won't let you do it again!" Jomei shouted, baring his metaphorical fangs. "My Stand has the ability to take a photo of a moment in time, and then it lets me go back to that moment! I managed to catch you off guard before you managed to even touch him!"

"What a terrifying Stand." Airi remarked, chuckling as her Intruder pointed its palms at Jomei, who winced in pain as a flurry of white noise infiltrated his mind. "You're going to stay out of this while I, Otoishi, make sure you never tell anyone what you saw!"

"The only reason you're attacking me is because I saw you kill Naomi Nijimura, is that right?" Joji chuckled as his Philosopher King launched itself towards Intruder. "You're a bigger coward than I thought, going after a sixteen year old kid!"

Airi shrugged, a large grin spreading across her lips. "You might have a Stand, but you're still just a High School student. I'll kill you, your entire family, that little girlfriend of yours, and finally Minato Nijimura."

"You won't get the chance!" Joji yelled as he felt fury rise through his bones, his Philosopher King's fist rocketing towards Intruder's face only for the Stand to narrowly dodge and press its palms against Philosopher King's chest.

"I already know that your Stand's abilities activate through punching things, so I won't let you lay a single hand on my Intruder." Airi chuckled, watching as the Stand started to pummel its fist against the ground. "Looks like you're a bit angry… well, you should be! It's not like you would be able to hit my Intruder in the first place, with that pitiful speed of yours!"

Moya moya.

Airi blinked as she looked down, seeing the sound effect displayed onto the ground beneath her feet. She rose an eyebrow and stared at Joji for a split second, right before a hard punch to her face which caused her to growl in anger.

"Okay, that's it! I'll just make you suffer if you're going to act like an impudent brat!" Airi shouted as Intruder shoved its hands at each of the Stand users, harsh white noise entering their minds as she dashed away from them. "I'm not good at handling two Stand users at a time, so I'll go and fight you one by one!"

It took half a minute for Joji to completely recover from the onslaught inside of his brain, though as soon as he did, he started to dash down the street but he turned to Jomei for only one moment to tell him what he believed was happening.

"She said she can't fight in groups, so it's probably likely that she's going to fight someone one on one or at least try! I think she's gonna go to Yuina's house, so follow me!" Joji shouted as he rushed down the street, soon pushing at the Hirose residence's door and attempting to push it open as his other hand furiously knocked away at their door. "LET ME IN!"

"Who the hell is out there?!" The door opened to reveal an elderly woman dressed in a pair of pure white pajamas, wielding a hammer in her left hand. "What do you want so late at night, Josuke?!"

"Let me in, your daughter is in trouble!" Joji forced his way into the home, dashing inside as he looked through every single room he came across – eventually he arrived at a bedroom, his heart nearly stopping in his chest once he saw that her bedroom window was opened, and no one was in the room. "Yuina? YUINA?!"

Joji nearly fell to his knees, hearing the elderly woman scream as she too entered the room – thoughts flooded the young man's mind as he attempted to think of what to do, his fingernails digging into his palms as he turned to see Jomei standing in the doorway.

"She's not here… miss, where was your daughter the last time you saw her?" Jomei asked as he looked down towards the elderly woman, who seemed to be at a complete loss. "That's… all that I need, then. Joji, come on, we're going to go back home after I call the police. We need to have a talk."

Jomei had attempted to calm the elderly woman after he had called the police, which had sent what police officers it could to the Hirose household as some of them were still searching for their chief that had went missing, others still hard at work near the Wall-Eyes and clearing the debris.

Joji stood outside in the cold, but he was not sure if his body was shaking from that or the anger flowing through his veins at that very moment. He watched as Jomei stood behind him and lit a cigarette, pressing it to his lips before he started to speak.

"Why did that woman know who you are, and why was she after you?" Jomei asked, removing the cigarette from his lips. "I heard something about someone called Naomi Nijimura. Are you going to tell me what's going on, Joji?"

Joji remained silent, rummaging through his mind for any idea that could possibly help him in this situation. He knew that he could not run away from this, he respected this man far too much to simply run away from him when he needed an answer. Would he even believe him if he told him that it was simply an accident that he crossed paths with Airi Otoishi in the first place?

"You probably aren't going to let me leave until I tell you, so I'll go ahead and say everything." Joji said rather lowly, stepping closer to Jomei before he looked him straight in the eye. "Yuina and I decided to check out a haunted house a few days ago, wanting to prove something dumb to an asshole at school… two people named Naomi and Minato Nijimura were there, who attacked us with their Stands because of a misunderstanding. After it was all settled and the dust had cleared, that woman… who said her name is Otoishi, killed Naomi by using her Stand to get by the rest of us."

"I see… well, it's not like you were willingly going into trouble, so I'm not going to scold you for any of this." Jomei said, raising his index finger. "But! I won't let you try to find this Otoishi woman. I'll do that myself, and I don't know what kind of man I'd have to be let someone as young as you endanger your own life."  
Joji desperately wanted to protest against this notion, and any other person eager to protect their friend would have done so – but he remained silent. Even if he begged this man, he knew that it would have to be a cold day in hell before he allowed him to chase after the assailant, even if Yuina Hirose could have been killed.

"Okay, I won't do anything. If I went after her, I'm sure that it would somehow make things worse." Joji told him, nodding in agreement. "I'm going to go back home, then. I'll be sure to see you later, and if you think I'm going to go after her, then realize that I have no idea where the fuck they could have possibly gone."

"I trust you, Joji, so please don't ruin that for the both of us." Jomei said coldly before turning back towards the house, pressing the cigarette to his lips once more. "I have no idea where the hell I'm supposed to look, but I might as well start walking around town…"

* * *

Joji sat alone in his room, attempting to call Yuina several times only for there to be no answer. The last bit of hope he had been clinging on was slowly slipping out from his hands, feeling his heart sink further into his gut the more he thought about it.

He pulled the slip of paper out from his pocket, staring at the phone number that the stranger had handed him a few days prior. He had felt a strange urge to dial in the phone number, maybe that man was someone who he could trust to take care of this, but he had no way of knowing.

"I won't wait around until Yuina gets killed, goddamn it." Joji murmured to himself before dialing the number into his cell phone, pressing it to his ear as he waited for the stranger to pick up. "Come on, come on!"

Jovanni Joestar had finally answered, much to Joji's relief. "Hello? Who's calling me? You know it's the middle of the night, right?"

"Yeah, I'm sorry, but you gave me your number the other. You wanted me to call if I ever needed you, is that right? Well, I don't know if you can do anything, but I need your help right now!" Joji said quickly, panting heavily as he felt his heart start to beat rapidly inside of his chest.

"Calm down, kid, okay? You sound like you've had a pretty rough night, but we should talk about this in the morning so you have some time to cool off." Jovanni responded. "We can meet by the ice cream shop or something."

"That isn't good enough, I need to go right NOW!" Joji shouted into his cellphone, his hands curling up into tight, shaking fists. "If I don't do anything, someone is probably going to die!"

"You aren't doing them any favors by freaking the fuck out, you know… look, just, take this time to yourself to cool off. You can tell me the details in the morning." Jovanni spoke rather calmly. "You'll just get yourself killed if it's really that dangerous. So just wait until eight in the morning, we can go talk then."

"Fine." Joji said, his voice shaking as he removed the phone from his ear. "Goodnight, then."

"Night, kid."

Jovanni sat his phone on his bed, rubbing his eyes as he yawned. He stretched his limbs across the bed, staring up towards the ceiling of his hotel room all the while.

"So, why did you give that kid your number in the first place, Jovanni?" November asked, who had been sitting on the edge of his bed, flipping through pages of a magazine. "If he's gonna keep bothering you after this, then maybe you should just let him be."

"I don't know. I just felt like it was the right thing to do, you know? He looked like the entire world was against him, so it was the least I could do." Jovanni smiled weakly. "I guess I should stop assuming, but I might as well go and see what's going on."

"You know how that feels, so I can't blame you." November said, laughing lightly as he sat back into his bed. "You're a pretty odd guy, Jovanni."

"Yeah, I guess so."

* * *

Joji had left the house around eight in the morning, an hour after Jomei had left the house and his mother had presumably still been sleeping in her bedroom. He had left his belongings in his room, and he had called Minato within the hour so he could tell him the plan for the day.

It only took fifteen minutes for him to arrive at the ice cream parlor, looking towards the familiar man that had been standing outside with someone else who he did not recognize. He cautiously approached them, waving as he managed to catch Jovanni's eye.

"Hey, I'm glad to see you're still in one piece!" Jovanni shot him a grin as he stepped forward, pointing towards the man standing beside him. "This is my buddy, November. My name is Jovanni Joestar, but you can just call me Jovanni, though."

"It's nice to meet you." November nodded towards Joji, shaking his hand after the young man had extended his own towards him.

"My name is Joji Kujo, you can call me whatever you want." Joji said, shaking Jovanni's hand as well before he leaned back towards the wall of the ice cream parlor. "My friend, Minato Nijimura, is going to be coming around here sometime soon to talk about what happened last night, if that's okay with you two."

"That sounds fine to me, the more information you can give us, the better." November replied, turning towards Jovanni who started to rub his chin slowly. "You alright there, Jovanni? It seems like something's on your mind."

"Did you say your last name was Kujo?" Jovanni asked, earning a nod from the student who looked towards him with curiosity, his head tilting to the left slightly. "The name is just a little familiar, don't mind me."

"Hey, Joji!" Minato shouted as he approached the three, panting heavily as he stopped in front of his friend. "You told me to hurry, so I ran all the way here! What's going on?!"

"Okay, now that we're all here, I'll tell you exactly what's been happening and what happened last night. But I have a question for you two, or this won't work out… if the answer is no, then don't bother with anything I'm talking about." Joji started, looking towards the two older men who locked their gazes with his. "Are you two Stand users?"

"Wait… how would you possibly be able to guess that?" Jovanni blinked, his own Stand materializing by his side. "We're both Stand users, yeah… but this is kind of creepy, how is this all just a coincidence?"

"Stand users attract one another, Jovanni. It's simply fate that we would meet these kids, so don't overthink it." November said, his own phasing into existence. "That means that both of you are Stand users, too. So, what did you get yourselves thrown into?"

"It wasn't something I wanted to get involved in at the time, but I've had a change of heart." Joji started, sighing deeply. "Around a week ago, I met Minato here at an old abandoned house where he lived with his sister. We had a fight, but we managed to clear everything up, but… this lady came in and used her Stand to murder Naomi Nijimura without any of us noticing until the last minute. Last night, she came after me, but luckily a friend of mine saved me, but that isn't the end of it. She kidnapped my friend, Yuina."

"What?! She tried to attack you and you didn't even try to call me for backup?!" Minato shouted, grabbing Joji by his shoulders. "We could have beaten her right then and there!"

"There was no way in hell that she would have stuck around, and I don't think I could have held her off for very long." Joji said, removing his friend's hands from his shoulders slowly. "That being said, she either kidnapped Yuina to lure me in or she just likes to torture her victims… maybe even both. She's only after her because I managed to see what she looked like before she got away, and she assumed that I told Yuina. Besides, she's a Stand user, so I doubt the police can catch her."

"What was her name?" Jovanni asked, crossing his arms as his Stand soon faded away. "Describe what she looked like, her name, and her Stand ability if you can."

"First of all, her name…" Joji scratched his chin, searching through his brain for a moment. "She said that her name was Otoishi."

Jovanni's eyes widened. "We've been looking for her for the past few days, she's been trying to kill us, too. Her name is Airi Otoishi."

"She used to be a part of a very dangerous gang, Joji. The fact that she's after you means you're in trouble, she probably knows how to kill you in thirty different ways." November replied. "Your friend is in more danger than any of us… that being said, why was she after Minato and his sister in the first place?"

"She killed our dad, who was a member of the Yakuza… thanks to Joji and his friends being there, I wasn't killed." Minato said, his face turning somewhat pale as he spoke. "She might be dangerous, but I can't just stand by and let her get away with this."

"Yeah, and I can't just let her get away with Yuina." Joji said, but shook his head. "Uh, anyway, as for what she looks like… she wasn't too tall, she had purple hair that stretched past her knees. She had a dark blue dress on, and a golden necklace on from what I can remember. Her Stand… I think it has something to do with sound, because she was able to force me to my knees for half a minute by forcing some kind of white noise into my head. When she first attacked, her Stand made everything blurry and I could barely hear anything."

"That's a pretty dangerous Stand, but it probably can't handle several attackers at once, but that's just what I'm assuming since she ran away after only killing one person." November stated. "But, it makes sense that she'd be after you, considering from what we learned she wants to take down every gang that she was assigned to, even though ten years have passed."

"We need to come up with a plan, and I think I have an idea." Jovanni smirked. "We're going to lure her in, but here's the catch; November and I will be her bait. There's no doubt in my mind that she would follow one of us to try and kill us, she just seems to be a confident person. So, I want each of you to follow one of us around. But, are you sure you want to do this? We used to be gang members, too, so I don't want you to freak out."

"I won't freak out, the life of my friend is at stake so I don't give a shit." Joji said without wasting a single breath, his eyes practically brimming with determination. "I don't know if I can trust you, but I have no choice here."

"If you want a reason to trust me, here's one; I killed their boss around ten years ago, but I don't exactly have any proof." Jovanni replied, smirking proudly as each of the student's jaws dropped. "Anyway, with that being said, what time should we move out?"

"I think we should all do our own thing for an hour, and you can message us so we can know where you're going." Minato interjected, adding his idea to the plan. "It would make us seem a lot less suspicious, and I haven't seen her since I got here."

"That sounds like a plan to me. Are we all in agreement, then?" November asked them, looking towards each of them as they nodded. "Good. We'll start in an hour, then."

* * *

The next hour had passed as slowly as it could, leaving Joji annoyed for the entirety of it until he received Jovanni's text message which had told him that he had been making his way towards a more rural part of town which had been placed near the outskirts of town. He had been notified that it was a farm, with a large field placed near it as well as a few smaller details and directions that would help him find it.

As far as Joji had known, it was only twenty minutes away if he ran as fast as he could. This was no problem for him, as he knew he would do anything to catch this woman red handed – he just hoped and prayed that Jovanni could hold her there if she had followed him.

Abel November had been walking impatiently around the abandoned apartments, moving away from them every so often. He had been told by Minato that it was not much of a walk from his house, but he had not yet arrived which bothered him somewhat and maybe he had backed out after all.

Jovanni had waited patiently for Joji, but he had already made his way towards the barn. He had not known if it was abandoned or not, but he had made the guess that Airi Otoishi would strike even if there were innocent people residing within it.

Jovanni had his hands shoved into his pockets and his Stand by his side the entirety of the time that he had approached the farm, which had a small house next to it that looked as if it could fall over if enough pressure was applied to it.

He slowly but surely knocked on the front door of the home, which looked to be somewhat larger once he had managed to walk closer to it. It was around half the size of the barn, but it appeared to only hold one floor from what he had assumed.

"Hello? Is anyone there? I've been walking around Morioh for the past hour, and I have no idea where I am." Jovanni lied, but there was no answer. He shrugged and opened the wooden door slowly, cringing as it creaked loudly. "Uh, hello?"

Jovanni audibly gasped once he saw that there were two corpses laying on the dirty wooden floor of the house, one an elderly man and the other an elderly woman – his Future Heart suddenly materialized as he stepped into the doorway.

In that instant, Jovanni groaned loudly as he watched his surroundings become increasingly blurry and his hearing had become muffled. He could see several dark figures closing in on him, but he turned to the side of the doorway and rammed his Future Heart's fist against it.

Jovanni jumped away from the shoddily built house as it collapsed, crossing one of his Future Heart's arms over the other to defend himself from any flying debris. He waited a few moments before he lowered his guard, though he could see a feminine figure standing outside of the now destroyed house.

"It was easy enough to get out of that shitty house, but you almost crushed me, damn it!" Airi Otoishi laughed, her Intruder materializing by her side as she dusted off her dress. "How could you tell that there was someone in there, anyway?"

"I didn't, I made a guess." Jovanni chuckled, cracking his knuckles as he kept his distance from the seemingly carefree woman. "You're really set on killing me, aren't you, Otoishi?"

"You know my name, huh? I guess Yuuma really was just a useless piece of dog shit." Airi sighed deeply, placing both of her hands on her hips. "He couldn't even kill scum like you, but that just means I can have my own fun making you beg for mercy."

"It's been ten years since I killed that Vladimir fucker, why are you so set on following his every whim even after he got his skull pounded in?!" Jovanni shouted, his amber eyes attaching themselves to her still slender frame. "Are you just a sore loser or what?"

"You're even more of a fucking idiot than I thought you'd be!" Airi growled, spreading her feet apart as her Stand started to float around her. "When I was told what happened, I had never been more fucking angry in my life! All of the money I had just vanished, and all of the members of Supernova decided to fuck off because they were scared of someone like you! I'm doing what the boss told me to do because I respected his authority, and I still do!"

"So, you're pissed off because someone took all of your money away? You're also following the orders of someone who's too busy burning in hell to give a shit about what you're doing." Jovanni snickered, attempting to provoke her as he stepped back. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"I'm going to kill you!" Airi yelled, pressing her heel into the ground as she prepared to break into a run – however, her Intruder quickly jumped in front of her torso as a bullet zipped towards her skull, though the Stand took the blow with relative ease without so much as a scratch.

"I'm not going to let you get close to me, Otoishi!" Jovanni retorted as his Future Heart pointed its flat palms towards the shocked woman, dozens of bullets zipping towards her; as this was unfolding, she quickly ducked and made a mad dash for the barn, her Intruder taking every hit that came to its user's way.

Future Heart lowered its palms once Jovanni saw that she had managed to hide inside the barn, and he was unable to pinpoint where she was exactly. Unlike the house he had wrecked beyond recognition, the barn seemed far sturdier so he had assumed a few bullets would not take it down.

 _Future Heart's bullets have the firing power of a pistol, and I would probably need a much stronger blow to knock that barn down onto her head. I can't get close either, or she'll activate her ability and kill me while I'm distracted._ Jovanni thought to himself, keeping his distance from the barn while keeping his guard up, his muscles growing incredibly tense the longer he waited for her to make a move. _If she's trying to lure me in by doing nothing, then she's got another thing coming._

Airi Otoishi panted heavily as she leaned against the wall of the barn, noticing that she had disturbed at least three horses that had been standing in their stalls. She ran a hand over her abdomen, a dull pain ringing throughout her body as she steadily approached the horse stalls.

"Intruder is a pretty sturdy Stand, but it can only take so much damage before it hurts me, too…" Airi groaned as the dull pain ran throughout her insides, her hand running along the side of the stall. "If he won't come to me, then I'll just scare the shit out of him, then."

Intruder pointed its hands towards the horses, each of them suddenly running out from their wooden stalls and out into the yard as a flurry of indiscernible noise flooded each of their brains. Airi chuckled and ran behind them though she could not keep up with their speed, even if she desperately wished to do so.

Jovanni's amber eyes widened only for a moment before the side of one of the three horses bumped into his own side, a hard crack echoing throughout his body as he coughed from the impact, falling to his knees as the horse ran away into the fields.

He could barely find it within himself to even speak, the wind knocked completely out of him as he grabbed his side. He felt as if his entire body was going to crack apart at any moment, gasping for air as his other hand clawed at the dirt below him, barely noticing that her shadow had now stood over him.

Future Heart attempted to land a punch on her gut, but its assault quickly came to a stop as a flurry of white noise penetrated through Jovanni's mind. He screamed in agony, the added weight of the woman's shoe on his head causing him to groan loudly, his blood boiling.

"I'll do whatever it takes to put you down, you fucking rat." Airi bit down on her lip, pressing her foot down into his skull as she chuckled. "I want you to apologize to me. I want you to say sorry for putting me in that hell for the past ten years! If you do, I might make your death a little bit faster!"

"Fuck you and the horse you rode in on!" Jovanni coughed, which only allowed the pressure on his head to multiply, his face pressing into the filthy ground. "Goddamn it, I can't believe this! GET THE FUCK OFF ME!"

Airi laughed, though she gasped and fell backwards once she felt a solid object barely brush against her cheek. She had stood upon the solid ground now, looking in surprise to see that Joji Kujo had now been approaching her.

"It looks like she fell for your plan, Jovanni." Joji said, stepping in front of him as his Philosopher King materialized. He glowered, his focus immediately shifting towards Airi. "But you can sit back for now, I can take care of her by myself."

"Who the hell do you think you are, kid? You're just after me because I took your little friend away, is that right?" Airi grinned, showing her teeth as she rubbed the sore spot on the side of her face. "With that shitty Stand of yours, how are you supposed to save anyone? You're fighting someone that's way past your level of experience."

"I'm going to beat you into submission until you tell me where you hid her." Joji said almost nonchalantly, pointing towards the side of her face as the words "Fuck off" suddenly appeared on her skin in kanji. "I wanted to test my Stand's ability, and it looks like I can pass the effects of something I punched if it hits another person. But, I won't need range to win this fight!"

Airi winced as she rubbed at the words on her face, grunting as she felt Philosopher King grab her by her arm with a swift ferocity. A hard punch met with her gut, though she managed to keep herself together as she landed near the collapsed house.

"DORA!" Philosopher King screamed as it beat its fist against Airi's arm, its other hand shoving her down onto the wooden planks. "DORARARARARARA!"

Airi shrieked as a sharp pain rang throughout her arm, her eyes twitching as she saw the wooden plank beneath her arm shatter as well – she was almost too shocked to scream in pain as the broken wooden plank reformed inside of her nearly broken arm, causing her to look towards Joji as if he were completely insane.

"Get the fuck off me, you freak!" Airi screeched as she pointed her other arm arm towards him, a blast of white noise forcing him to back off and grab his head. She delivered a swift kick to his gut, brandishing a knife that she pointed towards his stomach. "You're going to fucking pay for that!"

Joji moved to the side, grabbing his gut as he felt her blade cut into the side of his body. He grunted, not daring to show any signs of pain as he reached towards her hair and yanked her head so she would look at him, his half-violet half-dark blue eyes blazing with fury.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me what you did with Yuina!" Joji shouted, tugging on the woman's purple locks, his Philosopher King staring down at her as well. "If you don't, I'll rip every single strand of hair out of your fucking scalp!"

"What the… your eyes!" Airi winced before she pulled her blade out from Joji's side, her fist meeting with his chin so she could escape his clutches. "I've only seen that once before, but… no, you couldn't have done that! You're fucking insane! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"

"What are you talking about? What's wrong with my eyes?" Joji asked, stepping closer to Airi though she started to back away from him. "If you know something, you better speak up before I fuck up your other arm, too!"

"You can't act like you don't know!" Airi yelled, her confidence diminishing slowly. "You performed equivalent exchange with those Wall-Eyes, didn't you?! I only saw it happen after the earthquake, but I didn't think someone could experience it and live!"

"What the hell are you talking about? I don't know what you're talking about at all, so start making sense!" Joji yelled, an ache resounding throughout his skull. "Fuck, my head… you better start talking to me about Yuina, too!"

"I was tracking down my next target the night of the earthquake, and I had broken one of his arms. But, something was different." Airi gulped, a cold sweat running down her face. "When he turned back to me, his eyes were completely different, each side of one of the eyes was completely different from the other! His body was in perfect condition, too, even if he looked slightly different!"

"That sounds like what happened to me…" Joji murmured to himself, remembering when he was told that he was shorter than usual, his eyes had changed, and he had four testicles. "But, what happened to him and why didn't he live? I can't remember anything, so maybe he didn't have any memory either!"

"I killed him before he got away from me, but he was definitely not who he used to be! I don't know what the fuck was going through his mind, but he didn't have much time to think it through!" Airi told him, grinning as her Intruder stepped out in front of her. "I shouldn't be so freaked out, though. You're just a kid, I'll wipe you out easily!"

"I'll have to talk to Yuina about this later, then!" Joji cracked his knuckles, a light purple aura surrounding his slender frame. "Speaking of which, you still haven't told me where she is!"

"So what if I don't?" Airi smirked, crossing her arms as she started to approach Joji, her confidence slowly filling her heart. "Maybe she's already dead, and you're fighting for no reason! Why haven't you thought about that?!"

At the very idea of such a thing, all Joji could see for the next five seconds was red. His head was pounding, and he felt like he could reach out towards the answer that was within the depths of his mind and maybe even grasp it with his own two hands; it was a mix of confusion and indescribable, unhinged rage that started to boil inside of his blood, his unnatural eyes locking onto Airi's as his Stand started to glow brightly.

Philosopher King's stature remained the same as emotions and desperate need stockpiled inside of Joji's heart, barely able to see that Airi had stopped in her tracks as his the features on his Stand's body started to change and shift.

Philosopher King was as muscular as ever, though the mask on its face had fallen off, which revealed a perpetually shut mouth with two bright green lines that ran down from each corner of its maw to the bottom of its chin. Its tail extended for another foot, which had what appeared to be the tip of a blade at the very end of it. Inside the two wheels on its shoulders were now two long, sharp spikes. Along its arms, legs, and chest were emerald green plates that appeared to act as armor.

"You're going to regret saying that." Joji murmured under his breath before he charged towards Airi, who slowly snapped out of the surprise from what she had just witnessed. "Come at me, Airi Otoishi!"

From Philosopher King's now elongated tail shot the word 'Dorarara' which had been placed in front of Airi's feet, the Stand's fists closing in on the woman who held her palms out to send another flurry of noise towards the teenager.

Airi looked down towards her feet once she had stepped forward as well, a loud 'DORARARA' infiltrated her ears – she barely had any time to react as several fists that resembled Philosopher King's shot out from the word that had been painted onto the ground, meeting with several spots on her face.

Blood dripped from her nose and her mouth, unable to focus as Philosopher King's real fist shot against her gut; there was no doubt about it, somehow, that Stand had increased in its power and speed. Even though she was completely set on murdering Joji, she could not help but try and find a reason why something like this would happen in the first place.

Airi collected herself as her Intruder thrust itself forward, its flat palms pressing against Philosopher King's chest. Joji groaned as the pain shot throughout his head once again, unable to defend himself from the incoming blade, so he shut his eyes in preparation.

But the stabbing pain never entered his body, it would seem. He looked to see Minato Nijimura standing in front of him, his Manawar's hand locked around Airi's wrist tightly; without uttering a single word, he twisted the woman's wrist and kicked her away.

"What are you doing here, Minato?! Aren't you supposed to be with Jovanni's friend?" Joji asked, but if he had to tell the truth, this friend of his was truly a sight for sore eyes. "If you didn't come here, I would've been killed."

"I didn't go with November, but I took a chance with what Jovanni said the other day." Minato told him, not daring to take his eyes off of Airi, who was rubbing away at her now shattered wrist. "He said he killed the boss of her gang, right? It would make sense that she'd go after him first, and, besides… I want a shot at kicking her miserable ass, too!"

"I let my anger get in the way, and I don't think she can activate that Stand ability without the use of her hands… she can probably still use the other ability she had that killed your sister, so be careful!" Joji warned him, which resulted in a nod. "Alright, let's kick her ass!"

Philosopher King shot out the word 'Byoyon' onto the ground near Airi, who could only try to run away with her breaking body, though she was no match for Minato's speed. Joji motioned for Minato to knock her towards the sound effect that his Philosopher King had placed onto the ground, and he co-operated.

"Thank god my Philosopher King has a mind of its own, apparently!" Joji yelled with a grin, watching as Manawar's fist forced itself against Airi's mouth, effectively knocking out a tooth or two as she was sent flying towards the sound effect. "Let's see what you can do, new Philosopher King!"

Airi screamed as she bounced against the dirt beneath her, flying high into the air which allowed Minato and Joji approach the sound effect as it dissipated from the ground. Each of their Stands held one fist out, aiming her away from their spot in the yard.

"DORA!" Joji shouted as Philosopher King's and Manawar's fists met with her stomach, causing her screams to fall silent as she was sent towards the barely standing Jovanni. They quickly dashed over to him, though he had summoned his Future Heart, which pressed its foot against her back.

"What a damn shame, you got your ass beat by a couple of kids." Jovanni grunted, his hand rubbing at his side as he watched the two students approach him. "I'm sorry, I've been hurt much worse than this before… I guess it just means that I'm not as tough as I used to be, ha."

"It's alright, it's done, now." Joji said, panting as his Stand approached Jovanni, so he could heal whatever had been broken. "When she gets up, we'll make her tell us where Yuina is. She'll know what's coming if she doesn't tell us anything."

* * *

Time had passed slowly until Airi had woken up, who had told the trio where she had hidden Yuina so they would not deal out any more damage to her. She had been hidden away in an abandoned warehouse, her hands tied and her eyes blindfolded, but she had appeared to be in perfect condition.

Jovanni offered to show her and Airi Otoishi to the police, so Joji would not run into trouble with his supposed father, which he appreciated quite a bit. November was somewhat upset towards Minato, though he could not blame him for doing what he had done.

Joji sat outside with Yuina on her porch once she had been allowed to return home, and Airi had confessed to all her crimes rather easily. Joji stared at the night sky, thanking Jovanni for treating the slight wound he had suffered during the battle.

"Hey, Joji. Thanks." Yuina told him, a sad smile spreading across her face as she stared at the night sky as well. "I… to be honest, I really didn't think that anyone was going to come for me, but you tried your best anyway. So, thank you."

"I had to do it, there was no real choice." Joji replied, looking towards her with a somewhat concerned expression. "Is something wrong? You don't look too relieved."

"When Otoishi locked me away into that warehouse, I was completely alone with my thoughts." Yuina started, fighting her now quivering lips. "I just thought to myself, what if it was my fault that Koichi died? What if I followed him that night, would he have died, still? It was always something that I wouldn't let myself think about, but… what if it was my fault?"

"Yuina, it wasn't your fault." Joji said without a doubt in his words. "I know that you need someone to blame, but don't do it to yourself. Your mom pretty much hates me for something I never did or something I can't remember, but I never blamed myself."

"It's going to take a lot more than just some nice advice for me to get past this, you know…" Yuina murmured, slowly starting to sob as she looked down at her shaking hands. "What kind of sister am I, anyway?!"

"Hey, no! You're a great sister, as far as I'm concerned! That's the kindness you've shown to someone like me!" Joji wrapped his arms around her tightly, one of his hands slowly running through her hair as he felt a hard lump rise in his throat. "You had no control over it, so don't you dare blame yourself. I promise that we're going to get to the bottom of this, we just… need to start looking for the answers, so until we know for sure what happened, don't say anything that puts you in a bad light. We're going to find the answers, because… we have to.."

Yuina continued to sob heavily into Joji's shirt, though he did not mind. He had never felt so close to someone, and this was the one person he would dare call family – this was simply his duty, in his eyes.

"From now on, we're going to look as hard as we can for those answers that I need… that we need. I promise."

* * *

Yoshikage Kagerou looked up towards the woman who had been standing near the Wall-Eye that he had visited a few nights ago, nearly adjusted to the sight of this strange being.

Alandria Megumi – at least that was what she said her name was – looked rather young. Her hands were placed on her hips, her body covered by a silky red gown, her soothing lavender eyes set on his emerald green eyes.

"So, do you finally understand what I was talking about?" Alandria asked, tilting her head as she spoke, her lips nearly mesmerizing Yoshikage Kagerou. "If you do what I've asked of you, it will be more than enough for you to truly ascend."

Yoshikage Kagerou grinned, chuckling lowly. "It's equivalent exchange, so the deal that you have offered me is one that I cannot beat. I, Yoshikage Kagerou, will agree to your conditions. I will take care of the avarice that infects this town."

They extended their hands to one another, Yoshikage Kagerou kept his wide grin while Alandria Megumi smiled softly as their loose grip tightened.

The pact had been sealed.

* * *

 **Name: Airi Otoishi**  
 **Age: 32**  
 **Stand: Intruder**  
 **Destructive Power: D**  
 **Speed: B**  
 **Durability: A**  
 **Precision: A**  
 **Range: C**  
 **Development Potential: D**

 **Author's Note: I have been writing Azure Horizons consistently and nonstop since the middle of February, so I will be taking a break from updating it until March 30th.**


	7. Dark

fTwo days had passed before Yuina Hirose had decided to return to school, having taken all the time that she had asked for to recover from her predicament with Airi Otoishi. She had felt rather relieved once she had found Joji Kujo and Yamato Kawajiri inside the cafeteria early in the morning, each of them eating their breakfasts as they spoke to one another.

"I'm really sorry I didn't tell you anything, Kawajiri." Joji said, bowing his head. "I was losing my mind, and I really didn't think to call you!"

"It's not like you to apologize, so stop. It's kind of creeping me out." Yamato shook his head in response, a small smile slipping onto his face. "It's really no big deal, since I'm sure that I would have just gotten in the way. I'm really glad that you did what you did, though."

"I don't think I've ever seen you smile before, Yamato!" Yuina teased, taking a seat next to Joji. "The atmosphere in this school has changed a little bit, huh? I feel like we can all take a step back and breathe now."

"Yeah, but just for a little bit. I still need to try and find the time to go back to the Wall-Eye that you found me by, Yuina." Joji said stubbornly, as eager as ever to dodge any attempt at rest. "Are there still people working around there?"

"They've mostly moved on, but, there might be a few workers near the area later tonight." Yuina told him, sighing deeply. "I wish you would try to relax a little bit, you're going to stress yourself to death if you keep worrying about this."

"I don't have time to relax, and you of all people should know that by now." Joji replied, crossing his arms. "Ever since that Airi Otoishi woman attacked us, I've been pretty damn paranoid. A Stand user could attack us for any reason, so we need to stay alert."

"He isn't wrong, by any means; it would be stupid to let our guard down, but we have to make sure we aren't too wound up if something really does happen." Yamato added. "We should probably go check out the Wall-Eye tomorrow night, but, there's one thing that we need to mention. Yuina, is your mother going to let you go anywhere after what happened?"

"Oh, that's… I didn't think of that." Yuina said, staring down at her two dangling feet. "I'll try to sneak out, but she'll probably have everything kept at maximum security."

"That's okay, you need to make sure your family doesn't freak out." Joji responded, throwing his binder over his shoulder after he stood up and stepped away from the table. "I'll go ahead and ask Minato to come along, too."

"I'll see you in class then, Kujo…" Yamato said, waving goodbye to Joji as he walked out from the cafeteria at a rather quick pace. "Has he been acting weird around you, Yuina? He seems a little off, if you ask me."

"No, he only starts acting like this whenever someone brings up the Wall-Eyes." Yuina frowned. "It makes me wonder if there's something that he isn't telling us, but it's like he's bothered by the fact that he doesn't know what he could tell us… I can't imagine living the way he does."

"I see." Yamato nodded, slipping out of his seat before marching towards the cafeteria's exit, though he stopped and turned back to Yuina before exiting completely. "That's only another reason to help him out, since we're his friends. We can't just let him suffer all alone, so we should try our best to do what we can for him."

Yuina stood as well, a warm smile spreading across her face as she approached her friend. "You're totally right, Yamato! I'm sure that Joji needs all the help he can get, so we need to be patient with him."

"Yeah. Now, let's go to class before we get punished for being late." Yamato said, his ears perking up once the school bell started to ring. "Shit, let's hurry, then."

"Got it!"

* * *

The school day had passed rather quickly for Joji Kujo, though it may have been because that he had not paid attention one bit to his teachers; he was too focused on tomorrow night, wanting so desperately to search through the path of destruction that the earthquake had left across Morioh.

There had to be an answer, or at least a clue to what happened that fateful night – and, even though he could not remember anything before then, he felt a stabbing guilt in his chest and a nagging anger in the back of his mind that would not leave him alone.

It was an alien feeling to him until now, which only allowed a deep fear to rise up in his chest. He knew what it was like to be scared, but to this degree? It was completely new to him, he had felt as if his heart was going to explode in his chest.

Once he had arrived home, he had waited until Jomei and Tomoko Kujo had went to sleep before he did much. He ate rather slowly, talking to them about his day as usual, and it appeared that neither of them were suspicious of him.

Joji was determined to escape from the house that night, totally unwilling to wait another night in silence while he pretended he was a patient man. He had escaped by opening up the window in his room, slowly forcing himself out of it until he landed on the cold ground outside of his room.

A a light breeze passed by him, causing him to shiver slightly as he looked towards the night sky. The moon had been blocked out by a rather large cloud, small rain drops falling to the earth as he sighed, though he merely pressed forward.

It had not taken him long before he managed to find the Wall-Eye that Yuina had found him by, the rain coating his outfit but he barely paid any mind to it. He looked to the left and to the right, noticing that the place was completely devoid of any people, much to his relief.

He felt his head throb as he approached the Wall-Eye, shuddering as he stared up at it – it was as if it was staring right at him, his headache growing every moment that passed. Joji sighed deeply, stepping in front of the Wall-Eye as his eyes darted to the debris next to it though it seemed as if a majority of it had been cleaned out.

"Goddamn, my head is killing me." Joji murmured, wincing in pain as he extended his palm to the Wall-Eye, rubbing along it. "This thing is so strange, but it's also extremely familiar. Fucking shit, I can't remember what this is about, no matter what I do!"

"Do you need some assistance, young man?" A gentle voice asked, causing Joji to nearly jump out from his skin as he looked behind him, only to see that there was no one there. "No, I'm above you. Look there."

Joji felt his body shake once he saw that a woman was climbing out from the solid rock wall, her body soon floating down so she could obtain a better view of the young man, who appeared to be beyond surprised.

"Who are you?" Joji asked, his voice quivering as he stepped back. "Is this a Stand ability or something? People can't just crawl through solid rock walls!"

"My name is Alandria Megumi, and this is not my Stand ability. However, you appear to need some assistance." Alandria told him, smiling softly all the while. "I may be able to help you retrieve those memories, as that appears to be a common occurrence recently. What is your name?"

"I'm Joji Kujo, but, can you tell me what the hell is happening?" Joji questioned her, still absolutely bewildered by her sudden appearance. "How would you be able to help me?"

"You may not believe me, but, I am a spirit. My resting place was disturbed when a great earthquake shattered this town, and I cannot leave this Wall-Eye's side until I can peacefully pass on." Alandria started, brushing her fingers through her silky, wavy pink hair. "It appears that I am one with this Wall-Eye, so I know what its true abilities are, and therefore I remember all that has happened to you."

"Wait, are you saying that this thing is a living creature?" Joji asked, his eyes widening as disbelief spread throughout his almost numb face. "That's totally insane!"

"Not quite. It cannot speak, or move, but it is certainly sentient; it appears that it has a Stand ability of its own, and who you used to be was put under its effect willingly." Alandria said, stepping forward so she could extend her hand to Joji. "Please, show me that you are not a threat to the well being of this Wall-Eye."

"Okay…" Joji murmured reluctantly, shaking the woman's hand lightly before he pulled his hand away slowly. "I can buy you being a spirit, after seeing what just happened… but it has a Stand? And it put me under its ability?"

"Willingly, yes." Alandria nodded. "Its ability can only be described as something like equivalent exchange. You, Josuke Kujo, offered something and lost all of your memories. Allow me to explain to you what happened that night."

* * *

Josuke Kujo felt the metaphorical walls closing in around him as the ground beneath him started to shake; his friend, Koichi Hirose, had been backed up against him as they struggled to keep their feet still on the high ground that they had been placed on.

They had decided to walk around the woods that night, wanting to camp out for the last weekend of Spring break, but it appeared to be at a rather poor time given their current circumstances. They had made their way out of the woods not too long before now, though they could only stare in horror once they noticed that an incredibly large hill littered with large stones had been placed several feet above the one they had been hiking on.

"Koichi, come on!" Josuke yanked Koichi by his collar as he darted away from the rocky hill above them, several large boulders rolling down towards them as they dashed away. "We have to get the hell out of here, if we don't, we'll be crushed!"

Josuke had ran until they had managed to reach an area where they could slide down the hill safely, so maybe they could reach somewhere safe in town that could protect them from the ensuing earthquake – however, Koichi watched as Josuke suddenly slipped, the shaking ground becoming too much for the both of them.

"JOSUKE!" Koichi screamed as he darted towards Josuke, hurrying to pick him up off the ground as he could see a large boulder rolling towards them rapidly. "We have to get out of here, come on!"

Josuke quickly picked himself up, though he gasped as he watched the boulder suddenly watched it crunch against Koichi's body – then, suddenly everything became dark.

Josuke did not know where or when he had woken up, but he noticed that he was no longer on the hill that they had been trying to desperately to escape. His eyes shot over towards a strange structure extending out from the ground, barely able to move as he saw that Koichi's lifeless body had been set near his.

"No… KOICHI!" Josuke shouted, crawling over to his friend's corpse. He grabbed him by his shoulders, shaking him again and again as tears fell from his aching head, his fingers digging into his friend's uniform. "You have to wake up! WAKE UP, YOU BASTARD!"

Josuke panted heavily as he clutched his friend's body, staring up at the night sky as he held his friend closer to him. He opened his mouth once more, his eyes soon focusing on the structure in front of him, the indentations on its surface slowly glowing.

"I don't know what the hell is going on, but, please! Let Koichi live!" Josuke practically begged, his aching body suddenly growing numb. "God, if you're real, I'll give you anything if you just let him keep living! I'll give up who I am! ANYTHING!"

And then… everything disappeared from his mind, a deep sleep soon overtaking his spirit. Nothingness had reigned over his fragile brain now.

The pact had been sealed.

* * *

For the life of him, Joji found that he could barely grasp his fingertips around these so-called truths that Alandria had been filling his head with. It all felt so familiar, but he could feel his blood run cold at these supposed facts.

"That is what happened, Koichi's soul became one with yours. It seems that you are coming to terms with this. Am I incorrect?" Alandria asked, her voice almost disturbingly soft as her calm lavender eyes stared down at the trembling teenager. "I suppose that would be a word for it, anyway."

If Joji felt like anything that could not be described as hell, it would be a failure. The past seemed all too real to him, and the nagging in the back of his mind had attempted to lock itself into place as he tried to grasp at what reality he could bear to see.

"If I had just ran a little faster…" Joji murmured, tears forcing themselves out from his eyes as he trembled incessantly. Alandria blinked, raising an eyebrow as the poor child spoke weakly, his fingernails digging into his palms. "Maybe Koichi wouldn't have died if I just jumped in front of the boulder. Goddamn it, I wish I never asked!"

"Now, do you truly wish for that?" Alandria asked, one of her pale hands flowing towards Joji's shoulder – however, the young man jerked his body away from her. "What is wrong, Joji Kujo? You appear to wish to be comforted."

"Yuina has no reason to trust me any more, it's all my fault!" Joji grunted, not bothering to wipe the tears from his eyes, his orbs burning before he stared straight at Alandria with a strange, intense loathing that became obvious the longer he looked at her. "You told me about a pact that had to be made, so Koichi and I could fuse… so, what do I have to do in exchange for this information?!"

Alandria could feel her chest tighten, a burning sensation spreading throughout her body as a calm pink aura spread out around her slender frame. "You're a smart child. I suppose you've managed to discover just how these Wall-Eyes work in such a small amount of time… hm, what will I have you do for me, indeed?"

"Jack shit!" Joji shouted as his Philosopher King suddenly shot out from nothingness, its fists extended as a figure flew out from Alandria's side as well. "I've gotten a pretty shitty feeling about you this entire time, but it was nice of you to try and win me over!"

"Art of Anesthesia!" Alandria yelled, a rainbow-skinned humanoid colliding its fist with Philosopher King's. Its body was as tall as Philosopher King's, but it was not as muscular by any means; its entire body was a rainbow color, its eyes being ruby red orbs that appeared to be similar to the headlights of a car, several tendrils hanging from each of its sides before they wrapped around the enemy Stand's stout body. "You aren't going anywhere! You're going to sit tight and cooperate!"

Joji could barely squeeze a single word out from his throat as the tendrils coming from Alandria's Stand squeezed him mercilessly, his arms trapped to his sides. Philosopher King kicked its legs up, pressing them up against Art of Anesthesia's abdomen – however, this seemed fruitless, as the feminine Stand barely budged from the contact.

Even after Philosopher King tried to kick away at the Stand's skin, it only felt like it had been trying to chip away at a diamond. Joji felt hopelessness sink into his heart, but he could not help but shout in surprise once he saw a piece of solid concrete shatter against Alandria's chin, causing her Stand to fall back and release its grip.

"Minato?!" Joji asked, happily staring back to see that Minato Nijimura had started to run towards him. "Why the hell are you even here, man?!"

"I'll ask you that later, let's just get the fuck out of here before she gets you again!" Minato yelled, prompting Joji to quickly withdraw his Stand. He managed to catch up with his friend, dashing away as fast as he could without bothering to look back. "We're home fucking free, buddy!"  
Alandria simply stared as she sank back into the Wall-Eye, sitting inside of the darkness without even attempting to give chase. She sighed deeply, her Art of Anesthesia dissipating into nothingness before she simply shrugged.

"That boy is quick to catch on. I figured that he was still disoriented, but I was wrong… and his friend had decided to come along, too." Alandria murmured to herself. "I will plan ahead if we are to meet again, underestimating that boy will be the death of me. I'm so grateful that I have a willing soldier to take care of such tasks, though."

* * *

Joji and Minato had stopped running once they had found the road that had led to the latter's home, the rain pouring around them without caring a single bit about how they were begging their lungs to catch at least a little air.

"Okay, explain what the fuck you were doing there!" Minato huffed, grasping his knees before he fell flat on his rear. He attempted brushed off the suspicious look that Joji had shot him, waiting impatiently for his explanation. "Look, I was curious myself, okay?! And besides, what exactly the fuck was going on, man?!"

"I just wanted to go there because I couldn't handle it any more!" Joji shouted, grabbing ahold of Minato's shoulders as he felt the creeping dread force itself back into his brain. "Everything is locked in my head now, and… it's my fault! IT'S MY FAULT!"

Joji suddenly buried his head in Minato's chest, tears falling out from his eyes once again and rolling off his cheeks. His fingers grasped for comfort, his friend not daring to move while he let loose in the heavy rain that had coated the both of them.

Minato allowed his friend to expel this sadness out from him, while Joji only silently prayed that maybe the nothingness he had remembered so fondly would return to him.

* * *

 **Name: Joji Kujo**  
 **Age: 16**  
 **Stand: Philosopher King (Act 2)**  
 **Stand statistics:**  
 **Destructive Power: B**  
 **Speed: B**  
 **Durability: C**  
 **Precision: B**  
 **Range: C**  
 **Development Potential: A**


	8. Perfect by Design

Yoshikage Kagerou stood in front of the ghostly woman, his hands shoved into his pockets as sweat dripped down the sides of his head – he had never experienced something like this before, hell, like _her_ before. He had known that she was a being surrounded by mystery and an unsettling aura, but he felt as if he had been drawn to her.

"What do you want?" Yoshikage Kagerou managed to choke those four words out from his dry throat, the spirit looking rather pensive. "I don't know what you did to me, but it surely is not normal for you to implant these thoughts in my mind. I don't want to speak to you if I don't have to."

"My presence simply attracts you, that is not of my doing." Alandria stated, her usually relaxed lavender eyes showing a glimmer of stress as she shifted her face away from Yoshikage. "I had an encounter with Joji Kujo. He shares his last name with the man you're after, what do you know of him?"

"I knew that Jomei had a son, but I did not know his name." Yoshikage Kagerou said truthfully. "You had an 'encounter' with him? What do you mean by that?"

"I had provided him with information regarding his past, as he has amnesia… but he escaped before he could fulfill his end of the bargain." Alandria replied, frowning all the while. "That boy and his friends are not to be taken lightly, Yoshikage, as they are Stand users. I suggest that you tread carefully near them, but I have to ask you to kill Joji Kujo, as part of our deal, as well."

"Even more Stand users are here in Morioh, hm?" Yoshikage Kagerou wondered aloud, a soft smile creeping up onto his cleanly shaven face. "Oh, this is about to get interesting. I'll do what I can to rid you of this nuisance with Killer Queen… I do hope that you remember your end of the bargain."

"How could I forget, Yoshikage?" Alandria asked, smiling gently. "When your deed has been completed, I will see to it that you find a way to ascend."

"You have nothing to fear, then."

* * *

The next few days had passed rather slowly for Joji Kujo, who felt as though he had entered a dense haze that had welcomed him with open arms. He had only done so much as glance at Yuina Hirose between classes, feeling a consistent guilt prying into his heart even when he attempted to justify his prior actions to himself.

Joji would walk throughout the halls of the high school in silence, barely speaking to even Minato Nijimura who had simply asked him to get some rest the night prior. He had felt a strange sense of awkwardness cutting into his flesh, the uncomfortable feeling spreading throughout his body the entire school day.

Eventually, it was time for his lunch break and he had decided to sit near the back of the cafeteria, feeling unable to do much else until he deemed himself ready to speak with his friends, especially Yuina. He had kept a sharp eye open so he would be able to see if she would be looking for him, but there had been so sign of her.

"Why are you sitting all alone today, Joji?" A familiar voice spoke, causing Joji to turn his head to the left to see Tsubaki Kishibe standing a few feet away from him, a lunchbox dangling from her right hand. "I would think that you'd be sitting with your friends."

"Oh, hey, Tsubaki." Joji said, scooting over so Tsubaki could take a seat beside him. "I had a bit of a rough night and a pounding headache, so I wanted to sit alone for today. Do you got some more questions for me?"

"Just a few, but I want to save them for later. I have a proposition for you, if you're interested." Tsubaki said, setting her lunchbox onto the table before she stared right at Joji. "To acquire a deeper analysis, would you mind coming over to my home after school is over? I think it would prove fascinating if you're able to tell me all about yourself for at least an hour."

"I don't have a problem with that, I'll just have to call up my old man and let him know what's going on." Joji said. "I don't have anything else to do. Am I that fascinating to you or are you just bored?"

"You should have more confidence in yourself, Joji." Tsubaki replied with a slight smirk. "I can tell that there's more to you than meets the eye, and besides, I've been doing a little research on you among some other things in my downtime."

Joji raised an eyebrow quizzically. "Are you stalking me or something? That's kind of creepy, even though you know you can just ask me questions upfront. It's whatever, though, I guess."

"It isn't stalking if it's for research, you know." Tsubaki joked, laughing while slipping away from Joji, one of her hands brushing her long silky hair once she had managed to stand back up on her two legs. "Either way, I'm looking forward to when you come over. Have a good day!"

"Yeah, I'll do my best." Joji waved goodbye to her as she left the cafeteria, the escape the conversation had brought to him suddenly slipping out from his tight grasp. "That's about all I can manage right now, anyway."

* * *

The school day had passed rather quickly, though Yuina Hirose felt something in her stomach shift as she sat in the now empty classroom, worry crawling throughout her bones as she could not help but think of Joji. She had sworn that she saw him walk into school earlier, but it was like he was nothing but a hologram.

That very thought was enough for her to feel a pang of sadness within her heart. Had Joji purposely avoided her, had she done something wrong? If she had, she definitely was unaware of what she must have done.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom slid open to reveal the young Yamato Kawajiri with a concerned frown spreading across his face. "I looked around the school, and I just saw Joji leaving with that Tsubaki Kishibe girl… what do you think is going on there? Are they going out or something?"

"What?! Absolutely not!" Yuina snapped, all rational thought fleeing from her mind during that moment, an embarrassed flush flooding throughout her cheeks as she had realized she had blurted at Yamato. "S-sorry, it's just that… that would make absolutely no sense. Joji barely gave her the time of day, so why would he be doing something like that?"

"It's true that he hasn't talked to any of us all day, and we haven't heard anything from Minato, either. I hate to say it, but I'm getting a little worried." Yamato frowned, turning towards the door. "I'm going to go ahead and follow them if I can still find them. You can come by, if you want."

Without waiting for her response, Yamato left in a rush – that seemed rather out of character for him, at least, that was what Yuina had believed. He had never seemed concerned before, as he usually kept a cool and calm exterior… but maybe that was just for his exterior appearance, so he could keep the group from falling apart.

"It could fall apart at any moment, huh." Yuina murmured to herself before she pushed her chair away from the wooden desk. "I need to find Minato… you can't just keep ignoring us like this, Joji!"

* * *

"And this is my humble abode!" Tsubaki announced to Joji, who stared up at the three story house in amazement. It had been completely constructed out of wood, the entirety of the home appearing to be practically flawless on the outside. "I have a balcony on the third floor that extends from the back of the house, and that's where we'll be doing the question and answer segment. Are you excited?"

Joji haphazardly forced a smile, though it was most likely obvious that it was merely superficial. "Of course I am, I've never done anything like this before! I'll answer any questions you have for me, of course!"

"Wow, you really are excited!" Tsubaki grinned, twisting the doorknob to allow Joji entry. "My questions might get a little weird, but don't feel intimidated. I just need to research every nook and cranny of what information you could give me, so I can apply that to my own acting technique."

"Right!" Joji nodded, though if he had to tell the truth, he had wanted to do anything that did not involve this – but, hey, it was the only defense mechanism he could use against his lurking paranoia. He gulped, preparing to force out yet another lie of enthusiasm. "Let's get this show on the road, then!"

"Yes, let's." Tsubaki agreed, stepping to the side. "After you!"

* * *

Tsubaki Kishibe's home, if it had to be described, is exactly what you would see in a magazine. Soft furniture, white walls with intricate patterns carved into them, chandeliers and more – it was the essentially the epitome of what a rich woman's home could be.

The third floor was a tad different, which Joji had not expected. There were several cameras and pieces of film equipment scattered all over the room, some laying on the floor and some pieces standing as they had meant to.

"It feels like I'm in a totally different world, wow…" Joji murmured, almost legitimately impressed – though his eyes narrowed once he saw an oddly shaped shadow appear in the corner, and then suddenly dissipated into nothingness. "Huh?"

"What's wrong, Joji?" Tsubaki asked, but Joji simply waved it off. "If you're sure! And yes, I thought you would say that… I often refer to this room as my safe haven. It's where I always go after I come home from school, so I can start practicing for my next film."

"I can see why no one doubts your passion, this room is filled with all sorts of stuff. I don't even know what half of it is, but that makes sense, considering it is me!" Joji laughed, choking it out as he heard Tsubaki laugh along with him – was she really buying this entire charade? "Why isn't anyone here, by the way? Your house is really empty, I would think you'd have a butler or at least your parents here with you."

"I live by myself, that gives me quite a lot of liberty since I can do whatever I want. I own this house!" Tsubaki informed him, quickly grabbing Joji by his wrist to show him to a wooden stool. "I'm going to need you to sit here while I interview you, is that okay?"

"Uh, yeah, sure. I can do that." Joji commented, slipping onto the wooden stool, one hand folding over the other – he shook his head, his eyes shifting as he saw the oddly shaped shadow appear once again, this time it had grown closer to him. "I don't think I got enough sleep last night…"

"Just hang in there, I'll be sure to let you go and get some sleep after I'm finished here." Tsubaki replied, slipping onto a wooden stool as well, a notebook held within her right hand and a pen in the left. "Now, let's go ahead and get this started with a simple question."

Joji sat still, his vision suddenly blurring as he felt a cold shadow reach up from behind him as he watched Tsubaki move her lips quickly, and they soon curled up into a sinister grin. He felt his heartbeat suddenly pick up, a vice locking around his torso.

 _What's going on? I can't breathe!_ Joji thought to himself, coughing violently as he attempted to refocus his vision on Tsubaki, though he looked down to see two slender paws locked around his waist. _I can't let whatever this is drag me under!_

Joji fought for control before his Philosopher King materialized, though it seemed to be stuck in the haze as well. His eyes dazzled for a moment or two, focusing in on Tsubaki as his hearing returned as well, but he was still unable to move.

"You… have a Stand, Joji?" Tsubaki asked, her lips almost quivering as she watched the giant of a Stand struggle to move. "I never would have guessed, but it isn't like it matters now. You're completely locked in my Rank Rider's grip, so you won't be moving around any time soon."

Joji looked to see that a rather sleek, feline being had locked him into place. It looked as if it was covered in a clear, black armor that had covered every single part of its lanky body, its head covered by what appeared to be a motorcycle helmet, knives taking the place of where claws would normally be.

"What are you doing, Tsubaki?" Joji asked, his voice straining as he struggled against the bindings on his body. "Why are you doing it, more importantly… did I take a shit on your pride? Did you know that I didn't actually want to be here, did that piss you off or something?"

"It was easy to tell that you were faking it, I am a professional actor, after all." Tsubaki grinned, crossing one leg over the other as she spoke. "This is just a part of my job. I like to look into my client's memories to try and find some new material for my next script, so could you sit back, be a good boy, and let me pick your brain just a little bit?"

Tsubaki stepped out of her chair, placing one of her hands on Joji's forehead as a light pink aura extended from her finger tips, slipping past the young man's eyes as she closed her own. She sighed, her body becoming almost completely still as she did so.

Tsubaki could only see a strange haze as she stared into Joji's mind, the sound of static infiltrating her ears among distant screams that made her cringe, as if they were long finger nails running down a chalkboard.

She felt as if she was starting to become ingrained within the absence that was Joji's memories, sweat rolling down her face profusely as she nearly bit down on her tongue from the pain, her eyes forcing themselves open.

"What the hell was that?" Tsubaki panted, staring at Joji as any and all color drained from her once well composed face. "Is that an ability of some kind?! Tell me what that was!"

"I don't know what you're talking about, but, if you're trying to look at my memories…" Joji sighed, his Philosopher King suddenly grabbing Rank Rider by its head and prying it off of its user's body. "You're going to have a hard time looking for memories in my head, since I can't remember jack shit."

"They should be in there somewhere, that just doesn't make sense." Tsubaki clenched her fists, grunting as she watched her Stand be tossed to the side. "If that's all you can remember, how can you even keep your own composure for more than a few seconds?!"

"Hell if I know, but you better say sorry or you're about to get pushed into a world of hurt." Joji grunted, clenching his fists as he approached Tsubaki, a burning rage coursing through his heart. "I wouldn't give much of a shit if you were honest with me and attacked me, but you led me on and lied to me."

"The outcome wouldn't be very different if I just up and attacked you," Tsubaki protested, her Rank Rider slipping into the floor beneath it. "You would have destroyed me without a second thought, but you're in my house now, Joji."

"That doesn't change a damn thing, and you know it. You just managed to piss me off, and that isn't something you want to do." Joji sighed, his face nearly becoming numb as he stepped towards Tsubaki, his Stand's fists rising slowly. "Are you just a psychopath or did you just want to fuck with the weird kid?"

"I'm not a psychopath, I do everything I do for my own art! I have to keep improving, no matter what!" Tsubaki declared, her Rank Rider's shadow zooming across the floor. "And I can just tell how smug you are! How can you even function, or are you just faking it?!"

"I do what I do, because I have no other choice!" Joji yelled, his Philosopher King bolting ahead with its tail whipping towards Tsubaki, only for the feline Stand to immediately jump out from the floor, its claws raking down the opposing Stand's knuckles. "Shit!"

"You shouldn't underestimate your opponent, Joji." Tsubaki commented, watching as blood seeped out from Joji's clenched fist. "My Stand can hide under any surface, so you should be careful where you step while you're in this house. I know every single corner, crack, and crevice… so you should watch yourself."

"You should pull yourself together, because it sure seems like you're more worried about my state of mind, and not the position you're in!" Joji remarked, his Philosopher King's tail shooting out the word 'sizzle' which plastered onto the ground, much to the confusion of Tsubaki who allowed her Rank Rider to rise up from the floor, its full body launching towards the muscular Stand.

A piercing heat shot through Rank Rider's form, causing it screech and recoil back into the ground – its user clenched her teeth, glaring at Joji as she fell onto the hard wooden floor, the pain still searing through her body.

"Why don't you just stand down, are you crazy?!" Tsubaki demanded, slowly standing on her two feet as the heat coursing through her body dissipated. "You can't predict my Rank Rider's movements, you just got a cheap shot. You can't even throw a punch at me without injuring yourself, so what are you going to do? You can't rely on the same tactic forever."

"That seems a little hypocritical to me, considering all your Stand can do is hide and hit me when I'm not looking." Joji mocked her, tightening his fists as blood dripped from his knuckles; he had hated to admit it too, but, he would be in a great deal of pain if he threw a punch. "All you can do is steal experiences from the people you've picked apart, so what good are you in the long run?"

"Everything I do is for my art…" Tsubaki murmured under her breath, her Stand's shadow zipping around the room, her blood boiling as her fingernails dug into her palms. "If you dare insult that, I'll kill you!"

Before Rank Rider could launch its next attack, a slab of concrete shot through the wooden floor and cracked it apart. Joji could not help but smile as he watched Minato Nijimura climb up onto it, his Stand, Manawar following close behind.

"Who are you?!" Tsubaki shouted, watching as Minato turned to her with a harsh ferocity glowing within his eyes.

"I'm this guy's friend, so who are you to fuck with him like this?" Minato glared at her, his body shaking with rage. "Before you ask, I got here by following you from school. I was trying to make up a plan before I said fuck it and barged in, and I guess you didn't hear me."

Joji could feel tears forming at the edges of his eyes as he heard Minato practically chew Tsubaki out, a strange warmth overtaking his heart as he grinned, resting his bleeding hands as he watched the teenager step even closer.

"You really are a real friend, Minato." Joji said, receiving a brief thumbs up from Minato before he prepared to lay into the woman. "Do the others know about what's going on?"

"Yeah, I gave 'em all a call!" Minato chuckled, pointing straight at Tsubaki as a wide grin spread out across his face. "I don't care why you were doing this to him, but you better know that you've got nowhere left to run!"

Tsubaki could feel her legs shake, falling to her knees as she watched Minato tower over her. She could even hear two sets of footsteps finding their way around her home from below which only filled her soul with terror.

"Please… please, this place is all I have!" Tsubaki practically begged, but it seemed to earn no mercy from Minato who reeled his fist back, causing Tsubaki to shut her eyes as tightly as possible – only for the blow to never make contact. "Huh?"

Tsubaki opened her eyes to see that Joji had caught the punch instead, which only wracked Minato's head with confusion, as well as her own. This boy, who had been lured into her home and attacked like he was an animal, had saved her from some pain.

"What are you doing, Joji?" Minato asked, looking out of the corner of his eye to see that Yamato and Yuina had made it to the third floor. "Don't you want to beat the dog shit out of her for trying to hurt you?"

"I'm pissed off, yeah, but I just got a sneaking suspicion…" Joji started, lowering his friend's fist as his Stand dissipated. "… that her feelings are being misplaced. Maybe this place is all she has. Who are we to take that from her?"

"Joji… if you don't want me to hurt her, that's okay… but what are you even getting at? Are you thinking she should just go without a single hair on her head being harmed?" Minato asked curiously, which only received a small nod in response. "But why?!"

"I think what Joji is trying to do, is to show her something like compassion." Yuina interrupted, her eyes traveling from Minato to the sobbing Tsubaki. "If any of us hurt her, what are we going to really prove?"

"That's exactly it." Joji said, stepping in front of Tsubaki with his hands shoved in his pockets. "Listen up, Tsubaki… if it weren't for the fact that I believe you, I would have wrecked this place a long time ago. Your passion seems real, and I don't think you're faking this right now… so I'm going to go. But there's something you should keep in mind."

"What's that?" Tsubaki asked inbetween sobs, looking up to see Joji bend down and stare into her quivering eyes.

"If you ever try to attack my friends because of what's happened here today, I'll kill you." Joji said coldly, stepping out of the way and towards the staircase, receiving stares from each of his companions. "Let's go guys, it's gonna get late soon."

"Joji… I can't help but find myself admiring your strength, with everyday that I talk to you." Yamato said aloud, causing Joji to stop in his tracks. "Whatever's on your mind, just know, we'll understand. You can tell us, your best friends, anything."

Joji could feel something in his chest and his throat seize, feeling warm and fresh tears roll down his face as he nodded, barely muttering out a "thank you" before he continued to make his way out of the house, his friends following him all the way.

Tsubaki had been left in her lonesome, feeling her tears dry and hate burn in her head as she picked herself up and leaned against the wall, the image of Joji stopping Minato's fist frozen in her mind.

"He saved me pain, even though I did something as awful as look into his memories…" Tsubaki looked down at her shaking hands. "I don't want to admit it… I envy him, and I know he wasn't lying. That Joji Kujo… he's either really strong, or really crazy."

* * *

Joji sat on the front porch of his house with his friends, having explained all that had happened last night at the Wall-Eyes, though they had not called him out a single time, they had only nodded and listened with understanding.

"So, that's what happened to my brother… Josuke tried to save him during the earthquake, but it didn't even matter…" Yuina murmured, holding back her tears as a lump formed in her throat. "To die like that… oh my god, I can't imagine how scared he was."

"That's pretty fucking scary, Joji. I didn't think about it too hard before now." Minato said, resting a hand on Joji's shoulder. "Do you think she was telling you the truth, or do you think she was just filling your head with shit?"

"It felt too real to be fake." Joji stated somberly. "I can't just chalk it up to be a Stand ability, not after what I felt while watching that. But that brings up another problem… she tried to kill me because I bailed out on a deal."

"You didn't make a deal with her, so she attempted to kill you in return." Yamato murmured, rubbing his chin all the while. "Do you think that was this Alandria's doing or did she seem to have no other choice?"

"She seemed pretty damn pissed off about it, so I think it's safe to assume that she's dangerous. She probably wanted something in return, but I didn't have a good feeling about it." Joji replied. "She seemed a bit confident, too. She knows that Minato and I have Stands, so it's likely that she has other people who made deals with her, too."

"You're saying she might have someone who'd be willing to come after us, for a price?" Yuina asked, drying her eyes as she spoke. "That isn't good… if these guesses are correct, a lot of people could be in a lot of trouble if they come across her. So what are we going to do about it?"

"You've known me long enough, so you know what we're going to do." Joji started, standing up as he cracked his knuckles. "We're going to investigate around town for any signs of Stand users, because I'm sure she might have a body guard… and then we need to formulate a plan for the next step."

"What would the next step be, Joji?" Yamato asked.

"That's simple." Joji said, his light purple aura emitting out from his body. "We're going to stop her from hurting anybody else."

* * *

 **Name: Tsubaki Kishibe  
Stand: Rank Rider  
Stand statistics  
Destructive Power: B  
Speed: A  
Durability: C  
Precision: A  
Range: C  
Development Potential: C**


	9. Ashes

"Yoshikage Kagerou, you know that I have my roots planted all throughout Morioh, do you not?" Alandria spoke, her hands on her hips as she floated through the Wall-Eyes, the warm night air brushing against her skin. "Regarding that, I have called you here because I have a specific mission set out for you."

"Didn't you want me to eliminate Joji Kujo and his friends before I did anything else?" Yoshikage Kagerou asked, arching a brow as his irritation carried over to Alandria's ears, which twitched slightly. "You're being quite indecisive, what do you want me to do now?"

"Do not give me that tone, Yoshikage, you are to follow my orders until your mission is accomplished." Alandria's lavender gaze shifted to meet his clear emerald eyes. "As I was saying, you know that I sense everything that happens in this town, and I am an all-seeing eye that watches over it like a mother would her child."

"I think I understand what you're saying," Yoshikage Kagerou replied. "You think that there's someone else that might pose a threat to you in the future, if they aren't taken care of soon."

"As sharp as always, Yoshikage." Alandria complimented, a small smile growing on her clear face as she shut her eyes slowly. "There are two grown, experienced men that had assisted Joji Kujo. They are two very capable Stand users, but their personalities differ. Their names are Jovanni Joestar and Abel November. Have you ever heard of them?"

"I've heard the name Joestar tossed around before, I think." Yoshikage Kagerou nodded, understandingly. "Do you happen to know where they are and what their abilities are?"

"I am not aware of Abel November's ability, but Jovanni Joestar's has been known to me since his battle with Airi Otoishi, who Joji Kujo and Minato Nijimura had defeated." Alandria informed. "He seems to have a rather boring ability, but it is dangerous all the same. His Stand is able to hit fairly hard, and it seems that it can fire bullets from its palms. It would be a smart idea to not get too close, so you may want to rely on your Sheer Heart Attack to destroy him."

"I should have no trouble with him, then… I'll be cautious around the other, Abel November. If Sheer Heart Attack somehow does not succeed, I have another trick up my sleeve." Yoshikage Kagerou grinned, his Killer Queen suddenly materializing by his side. "Just tell me where they are staying, and they'll be gone before tomorrow morning."

"They are staying at Morioh Grand Hotel, it seems, so they may only be in Morioh temporarily. It is your duty to crush them before they even have a chance to find out about my existence." Alandria stated, steadily sinking back into the Wall-Eyes. "I leave this to you, Yoshikage Kagerou. Do not disappoint me."

"You know I won't, Alandria." Yoshikage Kagerou bowed his head to her before stepping away, marching towards the quiet town, his green eyes scanning his watch. "It's midnight… well, I should get this show on the road."

* * *

Joji Kujo hung up the phone, his hands running down his face as he groaned, frustrated before he turned back to Yuina. They had made several attempts to call Jovanni Joestar while his father had been away at work as he had been asked to work overtime, though it seemed that there was no hope of reaching the man.

"He's probably sleeping, Joji." Yuina frowned, crossing her arms. "We've called him at least twenty times, so he's probably just a heavy sleeper. We should just call him in the morning, when he'll be guaranteed to answer us."

"That isn't good enough, I'm going to get ahold of him tonight or you can call me Shirley." Joji shook his head, motioning towards the front door of his home. "I'm gonna head up to the hotel, you wanna come with?"

"It's not like we have school tomorrow, so… sure. I don't want you to go alone." Yuina agreed, seemingly concerned as she stared at Joji, stepping closer to him. "The hotel isn't that far away from here, but they're probably going to ask why two minors are walking in there alone."

"You're my sister, so they can go kiss my ass if they think otherwise." Joji shrugged, twisting the doorknob before he stepped out into the warm night air. "Anyway, let's get there before it gets even later. If we're not back by two am, my old man and your folks are probably going to lose their shit."

"Huh? Oh, yeah… I guess you're right." Yuina said, still soaking in that he had said that she was his sister. She could not keep herself from smiling brightly, as she had realized that he had been correct, even though he had stated it so simply. "Yeah, let's hurry up, bro."

* * *

Jovanni Joestar had been sleeping soundly, having lost himself in his head for so long. He had done not much of anything for the entirety of the day, only staying awake to eat and talk to November, but he had heard something wake him from his deep slumber.

 _Tic. Tic tic._

He had heard the noise in rapid succession, his eyes darting from one end of the room to the other. His companion had still been sleeping soundly, realizing that the strange sound had been emitting from outside of his hotel room.

 _Tic tic tic tic tic._

Jovanni Joestar nearly screamed as he felt the walls of his hotel room shake, the interior of them suddenly shattering as a gaping hole exploded out from it. He had thrown himself to the floor, his Future Heart materializing by his side as Abel November jumped out from his bed as well, his own Stand ready for battle.

"What the fuck was that?!" November screamed, feeling the floor shake as well before he stumbled over towards the gaping hole in the wall. "There are innocent people in this hotel, goddamn it!"

"There's no time to scream about it, let's find out what the fuck is going on!" Jovanni shouted before jumping through the hole in the wall, noticing that parts of the floor had started to give in. He could still hear the _tic tic tic_ echoing through his head, but once he turned his head he found himself face to face with a stranger.

"There is no room for subtlety here, gentlemen." Yoshikage Kagerou stated, his Sheer Heart Attack suddenly transforming into a dark purple aura that shot into his left hand. "I've set a time bomb to explode within five minutes. Do you think you can kill me quick enough to stop it?"

"You're a Stand user! What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Jovanni screamed as his Future Heart pointed its flat palms at him, several bullets zipping towards Yoshikage. "There are innocent people in this hotel, you dumb fuck!"

"Killer Queen!" Yoshikage Kagerou shouted, his Stand manifesting as it blocked each of the bullets rapidly with its fists. "I'm just a little faster than your Stand, Jovanni Joestar. I know everything about it, so it's best to hope for the best but expect the worst."

November suddenly charged towards Yoshikage Kagerou, the latter's eyes widening though his Stand's right hand swiftly tapped the older man's robotic arm. He jumped back, grinning before he clenched his fist, pressing his thumb onto it.

"Huh?!" November shouted, watching as his metallic arm suddenly shattered into hundreds if not thousands of pieces before completely evaporating, causing him to fall to his knees, his vision blurring and his hearing fading. "FUCK!"

"November!" Jovanni shouted, his heart feeling as if it were going to burst while he watched his comrade fall to his knees weakly. "No more!"

Kagerou's Killer Queen rose its hand before swiftly chopping it towards November's defenseless abdomen – only, oddly enough, the pain that November had been expecting never came.

Jovanni coughed as he felt fresh blood spill out from his now wet maw, his body splitting into two quickly and smoothly into two separate halves, his upper half falling onto the ruined floor of the hotel.

He had only felt the mind numbing pain for a moment as blood seeped out from his now bisected body, his amber eyes burning into November's as a warm-hearted smile started to stretch across his sweating and weary face.

"I guess I'm still as fast as I used to be, huh?" Jovanni chuckled lightly, his face filling with what appeared to be a sense of satisfaction as he felt the universe's cold grip on his soul slip away. "November… kick his ass."

November could only watch as primitive thoughts raced into his head, as if his mind was having difficulty processing what had just happened, in front of his very eyes: Jovanni Joestar had died.

Jovanni Joestar was dead. Jovanni Joestar was dead. He repeated this to himself for what felt like hours, but only seconds had passed; and, strangely enough, his animalistic rage left no room for tears or fears.

Kagerou's apathetic demeanor wavered as his heart started to race, his limbs had been overcome by shock as November shot forward and landed a solid bare knuckled punch to his nose, which felt as if it had shifted to the left side of his face.

"Guh!" Kagerou's nose registered the dull pain, another hard blow to the gut taking him by surprise. There were only two thoughts floating in his head as he had been savagely pummeled: What's going on, and how do I escape?

"I won't even use my Stand to stomp you out like the sorry, shitty excuse of a living being you are." November spoke lowly, his voice shaking violently all the while. "I'm going to beat you to death. Stay down, you're not going to get out of this alive, no matter what you do."

"Killer Queen!" Kagerou called for the protection of his feline Stand, which had prepared to shove November away – though, the man had merely drawn out his handgun and shot towards Kagerou's left hand, crippling it as it shook away his concentration. "You can't do this to me, you fucking piece of horse shit!"

"Be quiet!" November shouted as he kicked Kagerou in the side, soon sliding onto him and pressing the barrel of his handgun to his forehead. "Do you have anything to say to me, motherfucker?!"

"To think, a piece of lowly scum like you, would humiliate Yoshikage Kagerou! THIS IS UNTHINKABLE!" Kagerou screamed, only to yelp in pain as the butt of the handgun slapped him across the face, busting his lip. "Fuck you!"

"You don't know what humiliation is!" November pocketed his handgun, suddenly landing blow upon blow on Kagerou's face, blood streaming out of his injured mouth and his shattered nose, his opponent's hands suddenly yanking him up by his shirt collar. "Last time something was taken from me, I was powerless. I am anything but right now."

Kagerou could hardly whimper before he felt the back of his head fall onto the floor, tight punches meeting with his face as tears of anguish fell from his emerald eyes, begging to be set free from this torture.

November had felt bitter tears cover his face, his hand throbbing as a cracking pain rang throughout it. He had managed to break his only good hand. He stood up, staring down at the barely breathing Kagerou."

November moved to grab his handgun, but he had completely frozen once he heard a wheezing laughter emit from Kagerou's mouth, which had been caked in blood.

"All of what you've done to me tonight was all time wasted." Kagerou choked, his throat tight as he hunched over, intense pain wracking his body. "Bite the Dust! Activate!"

 _Switch._

Kagerou pressed his thumb down on the trigger, the building shaking violently as the blood on his face dissipated, his broken bones and the dull aches fading as well.

November's first instinct was to run as fast as he could – he dashed towards the nearest window and shattered it with the side of his Humiliation's body, which had started to devour the broken pieces of glass before it curled its massive body around November to soften he impact upon the concrete.

November had dived away from the building as it had collapsed, flames engulfing the entirety of it as it fell, floor by floor collapsing until nothing remained except the flames, the rubble, and the bodies hidden beneath them.  
November stared into the burning fire as he felt a sensation of weakness flood into his quivering throat, his still damaged hand pounding at the rough concrete beneath his body, screaming all the while. "JOVANNI!"

"What the fuck?! Let us through!" A familiar voice shouted, causing November to turn around to see Joji Kujo and Yuina Hirose being blocked off by several police officers that had managed to arrive at the scene. "My friend is in there, goddamn it!"

The night had moved on slowly and cruelly, the two teenagers had decided to ride in the back of the ambulance with November, who had remained quiet for the majority of the trip to the hospital before Yuina had begun to speak.

"What happened, sir? You haven't said anything at all, and we're just… lost. What happened at the hotel?" Yuina questioned him, which only made the lump in his throat grow more persistent. "And… where's Jovanni?"

"He's dead. A Stand user came in, and he just… killed Jovanni, because that fucking idiot took the hit for me." November murmured, tears flowing out from his eyes and onto his shaking hands. "He killed so many people… I don't know what this fucker can do exactly, but he was able to make my arm explode by touching it. He had a remote control bomb, and he healed himself. My fucking god. I had him, but I let my eyes off him for just one goddamn moment. He probably got away, fuckers like him usually do."

"What was his name?" Joji spat, his anger building to the point where the entirety of his body had started to shake. "Please tell me you found out his name."

"He said his name was Yoshikage Kagerou."

That name struck a chord with Joji. He knew he had heard that name somewhere before, and he believed that it may have been mentioned in passing sometime before – his father, Jomei Kujo, had worked with this man. He was sure.

"As soon as we get to the hospital, I'm going to need to use the nearest phone. That man works with my old man, so if he lived and managed to escape, I think I know where he's going next." Joji said, glaring as he stared at the floor. "He's trying to kill off a set group of people, so it's possible he's going been working with Alandria… who you don't know about."

"You can tell me everything when we get there, there's no need to over exert yourself." November reassured him, despite the storm surging inside of him. "The fuckers like him always get what they deserve, I can tell you that much."

"That promise isn't enough… he's going after my dad now! I have to warn him!" Joji clenched his teeth, his fingernails biting into his palms as the thought of his father being caught off guard and defenseless infiltrated his already stressed mind. "I won't let that happen! I can't, not after everything he's done for me!"

"You need to think rationally about this!" Yuina told him, one of her hands latching onto his left arm. "I think it probably isn't good to just assume he's going to go after your dad, Joji! What makes you think he'd do that?"  
"My old man always told me about how much he'd give him shit when he was at work! Besides, what does it matter, when this fucker killed dozens of people without even blinking an eye?!"

Joji's Philosopher King had materialized, but it had been covered in a magnificent white light – when it had faded, it appeared that its appearance had shifted. Philosopher King had grown six inches in height, and its extremely long tail had completely disappeared from its body. It kept its bulky armor, and its skin turned to a dark green color. On its forehead, its chest, and on each of its chest was the number three in a bright yellow color. There appeared to be two steel rings latched across each of its wrists and each of its ankles. There also appeared to be small yellow protrusions that had moved along its chest and along its back, and it appeared that its muscles had grown considerably as well.

"I've… never seen that before." November's eyes widened in amazement, watching as the newly evolved Stand dissipated back into nothingness. "Okay, okay… let's just calm down here, and we'll be able to call your father."

"We need to, or more people are going to die for no good reason." Joji grunted, his aura soon fading as he sat inside the ambulance, which had started to park near the hospital. "I need to get to him as fast as possible, I can worry about being punished later!"

"That's a good idea, but I'm going to go ahead and try to help November get out of the ambulance." Yuina said, slipping an arm around November as he stood up, the backdoor of the ambulance opening to reveal two paramedics. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, I will. Just so you know, I have a friend coming soon…" November murmured. "I asked for his help if anything else had happened, and I know he can't resist helping out his friends. He's a good man, I trust him with my life."

"What's his name?"

* * *

Thomas Lowell stared out of the window of the airplane, his bright green aura surrounding his body as he waited patiently to arrive at his destination: Morioh, Japan. It had been hours and hours since they had taken flight, but he had been growing more and more impatient.

"I'll be home soon, I just have some business to take care of." Thomas said into his phone, a smile forcing itself upon his grizzled face. "Yeah. I love you too, Alice."

He slipped his phone back into his pocket, his impatience becoming almost unbearable. He had a terrible sinking feeling, but maybe it would be safe to chalk it up to paranoia – or maybe his instincts were just that powerful.

"I'm coming, Jovanni."

* * *

 **Name: Yoshikage Kagerou  
Age: 33  
Stand: Killer Queen  
Stand statistics  
Destructive Power: A  
Speed: B  
Durability: B  
Precision: B  
Range: D  
Development Potential: A**


	10. Heart Failure

Morioh had been startled out of its deep slumber by the chaos that had begun to spread throughout the city like a disease, poisoning every nook and cranny of the quaint little town. Police sirens and firemen had prevented the bewildered citizens from catching a good night's sleep.

Jomei Kujo was one of these bewildered citizens, his office building had been placed under lock and key after word of Morioh Grand Hotel being torn apart had traveled down the grapevine. It was barely possible to hear over the loud, scattered voices of his co-workers. It was almost impossible to even think.

"I just hope that my family is okay…" Jomei murmured to himself, almost feeling as if his heart was going to burst out of his chest when his phone suddenly buzzed in his pocket. "Huh?"

Jomei pulled the phone out from his pocket, shifting away from the frantic crowd as he pressed it to his hear. His eyes widened once he heard Joji Kujo's voice enter his ears. "Dad? Are you there? Hello?!"

"Joji, are you okay?! How about your mother, how's she holding up?!" Jomei asked in a hurried, rushed voice as beads of sweat incessantly dripped down his face. "Please, just tell me that you're okay!"

"Dad, there's barely any time to explain, so save chewing me out for later." Joji started, his voice filled to the brim with desperation. "I'm at the hospital with a friend of mine, who was hurt pretty damn badly during the explosion. He fought a Stand user, who we're pretty sure is gonna come after you next."

"What?!" Jomei shouted, his fatherly anger barely subsiding as he spoke. "You're telling me a Stand user did this? What did they look like, son?"

"You probably know him, but I'll go ahead and tell you what exactly he can do, with what limited knowledge we have." Joji said. "He can turn anything into a bomb by touching it, and he apparently has this weird tracking device that's also a bomb. He could also heal himself, but we're not sure what that might have been… his name is Yoshikage Kagerou."

"Yoshikage?" Jomei had nearly dropped the phone as he whispered his co-worker's name, a sense of dread flooding into his senses. "Are you absolutely sure, Joji? Are you sure that this isn't just a guess?"

"There isn't any more time to argue about this!" Joji snapped. "He is on his way over there right now, most likely, and he's going to kill you and even more innocent people! So pay attention and save who you can, give your life if you have to!"

"You're right. I'll do whatever it takes." Jomei gulped, clenching his free hand into a tight fist. "I'll talk to you after we all make it out of this alive. See you later."

Jomei ended the phone call and pocketed his device, his Deaf Havana materializing by his side while his golden aura washed over him; whether if his son was correct or not regarding who the enemy was, a Stand user would be coming for him, so he had to keep his eyes peeled.

His Stand's headlight-like orbs flashed for a moment, and a whirring, mechanical sound emitted from its mouth as a photograph slipped out from it. The photograph displayed the room before Jomei, who then snatched it away from Deaf Havana's maw and pocketed it in his jacket.

"I have to get to the first floor, somehow. If the Stand user is able to control explosions or turn things into bombs, he's going to strike at the most defenseless part of the building." Jomei whispered to himself, slipping towards one of the windows at the back of the room, as he watched the security officers keep a hold on the situation. "No sane officer would think someone would jump out the window… but I have no time to waste, I have to get out of here, right now."

A dense fog started to emit from his Deaf Havana's body, completely shrouding his body from any of the bystanders. He rarely had to use this ability, but it was one of the most versatile techniques that he had at his disposal: fog emission.

Fog emission allowed Jomei to act without making a single sound, and he could not be seen by any non Stand users. Though, he had to remain within the fog, which had only covered an extremely small radius of three to five meters.

In almost deafening silence, Deaf Havana slapped the back of its hand against the window, which had shattered it effectively; Jomei peered out into the warm night, thankful that he had only been working on the second floor.

Jomei eased out of the window and grabbed the bottom ledge, his Stand's grip keeping him balanced until he had managed to land on the ground flatly, the streets of Morioh now empty before his eyes.

"I just need to prepare myself for the worst." Jomei mumbled to himself, his Stand forcing open the backdoor of the building, freezing cold suddenly blasting against his face as he did so, causing him to instinctively cringe and clench his teeth. "The storage room… I'll look around and see if anyone's stopped by here yet."

Jomei slipped into the seemingly abandoned storage room like a ghost, packages upon packages stacked on top of one another across the entirety of the wide, spacious, and absolutely frigid room. It was overwhelmingly quiet as well, the smallest sound would make any man or woman jump out of their icy skin.

And just like that, Jomei's heart raced wildly and savagely in his chest once he heard a small footstep press onto the floor just beyond the next door. He felt sweat drench his face as his neck as he moved to grip the handle on the steel door, his muscular Stand ready and practically thirsty for battle.

Or, at least, he would have gripped the door handle if he did not know what the enemy Stand could do. Deaf Havana lifted one of the heftier boxes and tossed it at the steel door,t he force effectively blowing the door wide open – and he saw that Yoshikage Kagerou was standing to the side of it, his head tilted slightly in confusion.

"Why did you break down that door, Kujo? Are you even more scared than the rest of the vermin up there? You've probably already soiled yourself, knowing you." Yoshikage Kagerou mocked him, which earned him no response from Jomei. "I wanted to escape and get some peace, but it seems you miserable malcontent. You just won't leave me alone."

"Cut the shit, Yoshikage. We both know that you haven't been at work all goddamn day." Jomei grumbled, Deaf Havana manifesting as he stepped forward. "So, why are you down here?"

"You're quite a paranoid man, aren't you, Kujo? Or do you just not know how to listen?" Yoshikage Kagerou smirked, backing up as Jomei steadily walked forward, his smirk soon turning into an irritated frown. "Would you get away from me, worm?!"

"Tell me what's going on, and no one gets hurt." Jomei started, his body seizing once he had heard footsteps approach him from behind, prompting him to turn around. "Who's there?!"

It appeared that one of the elderly security guards had come by to make his nightly round, his flashlight shining directly into Jomei's face, which had forced him to shield his eyes from the bright light. "Eh? What are you two doing all the way down here?"

"I was getting pretty cramped up there, so I just needed to get a breath of fresh air." Jomei lied, blinking once he saw two small yellow lights emit from the security guard's open mouth. "… Huh?"

"What're you lookin' at, boy? Get both of your asses in gear, upstairs, before I make you." The security guard said, turning towards Kagerou before he suddenly grabbed at his own throat, a massive lump forming inside of it. "Urk!"

Jomei watched in horror as Sheer Heart Attack tore apart the security guard's throat from the inside out, a minuscule explosion engulfing the poor elderly man's body until nothing remained, not even ash. Jomei whirled around and threw a hectic punch at Kagerou, who had managed to duck and jump out of the way from the now enraged man.

"He was right!" Jomei launched himself towards Kagerou, his Stand's fists blowing holes into the sides of the room with ease. "You're the Stand user, Yoshikage!"

Yoshikage Kagerou felt his emerald eyes shake in fear once he had heard Jomei scream. Someone had told him of his ability, but, how was that possible when November had been hospitalized?

"Look over here!" Sheer Heart Attack called towards its furious opponent, who had merely ignored it and rushed towards its user, who had summoned his Killer Queen to aid him. "Hey! Look over here!"

Sheer Heart Attack rocketed towards Jomei, who had turned around so his Deaf Havana could grip the heavily armored tank as if it were its second nature. With a loud and primal "ORA!" it tossed the secondary bomb towards Yoshikage Kagerou, who had absorbed it back into his left hand before the bomb could explode, which would have most likely taken out Jomei and Yoshikage with the rest of the building.

"It makes sense you were able to evade my Sheer Heart Attack before. You're clearly a very capable Stand user." Yoshikage Kagerou complimented him, an almost demented smile boring into Jomei's eyes all the while. "But you're missing something very vital, you're missing the very core part of your continued survival."

"Don't even try to flatter me, you bastard. What the hell could I be missing?" Jomei questioned him, his golden aura growing as deadly and fierce as a forest fire. "Tell me, before I get over there and snap your neck."

"You're missing the will to do what it takes to win!" Yoshikage Kagerou laughed wickedly, his Killer Queen pressing its palm to the very top of the short ceiling. "Killer Queen, burn all of them until not even ash remains! Another one bites the dust!"

"Deaf Havana!" Jomei shouted as the roof of the bottom floor had started to cave in, his right hand pulling out the photo his Stand had taken earlier from his coat pocket. "Rewind!"

An immense pressure had started to beat down onto Jomei's back, a black orb suddenly surrounding his body as everything that had been falling apart before his eyes disappeared, darkness cutting into all of his senses.

* * *

Yoshikage Kagerou sighed in relief as his wounds healed rather quickly, his Killer Queen kicking out a hole into the side of the building before its user had jumped out from the hole, the feline Stand raking its fingers down the hotel so it could achieve a smooth landing before the entirety of the structure had completely fallen.

He had managed to channel his new found energy into his long, lanky legs which had allowed him to sprint away from Morioh Grand Hotel as it had been utterly obliterated, remaining unharmed which had allowed him to look back at the now ruined hotel.

"I expected everything to go much more smoothly, but maybe I should start to expect the unexpected from these cretins." Yoshikage Kagerou murmured to himself, adjusting his tie as he slipped into the darkness. "Jovanni Joestar and Abel November are both dead. Next, I either have to take out Jomei Kujo, but I was told that Joji Kujo is a threat of higher importance."

Yoshikage Kagerou pondered this and weighed his options for a few moments, slipping through the pitch black and abandoned alleyways as he did so. "The office is much closer to where I am, I can just visit his home later. Jomei Kujo is my next victim, then."

Yoshikage Kagerou heard police sirens scatter throughout the now panicking city of Morioh – this was his chance. Everyone would be locked inside of their homes or their workplaces, and he would have all of the freedom in the world to achieve his goal. Nothing was between him and his ultimate goal now, aside from the Kujo family.

He had managed to remain undetected for the entirety of his stroll, morphing and blending in with the shadows whenever he had heard anyone move near him, or at least when they had managed to move unknowingly close to him.

Yoshikage shifted towards the entrance of the storage room, but, he felt his entire body freeze in absolute terror once he saw that Jomei Kujo had been standing in front of the iron door with one arm folded over the other, a Stand at the ready.

A strong sense of deja vu shook his mind, but what terrified him the most was the question he had instantly asked himself: how could Jomei Kujo possibly know he was coming? This could not be a coincidence or a misunderstanding, as he could see a passionate, righteous fury burn within the man's eyes.

"Stay the hell away from those people, and back off from my family." Jomei growled, his footsteps heavily digging into the dirt as he scowled. "Get the fuck out of Morioh before I bury you here."

"I'll burn down Morioh if that is what it takes to get what I desire!" Yoshikage Kagerou declared, his Killer Queen materializing by his side. "Once you're of the way, no one will be able to stop my glorious ascension!"

"If you somehow kill me, you're sealing your fate as a dead man." Jomei said, cracking his knuckles as a fiery golden aura emitted from his tall frame. "You're trembling, too. How are you going to kill me like that?"

"Every ability has a weakness, I just need to find out what yours is." Yoshikage Kagerou stated, rubbing his chin as his breathing slowed to a steady pace. "Unless, you would be willing to tell me who told you everything. I would let you and your family live. What do you say?"

"I say you're full of shit, and you won't catch me handing over a single innocent life to you, you piece of scum." Jomei shook his head, fog billowing out from his Deaf Havana's body. "My ability has no weaknesses. I can turn back time. Are you satisfied with that answer, Yoshikage?"

"You're lying!" Yoshikage Kagerou spat angrily, hesitation to attack suddenly leaving every single bone in his body, though it had been replaced with extreme reluctance to believe his nemesis. "No one can hold control over time!"

"What a lucky man I must be, then." Jomei sighed, his heels digging into the dirt as his fighting spirit flared inside of him. "Now shut up, and fight me like a man."

Kagerou flinched once Jomei rushed towards him, a blindingly fast fist meeting with his Killer Queen's ribs, knocking the wind out from his body with relative ease – it had even felt as if they had been cracked.

"Killer Queen!" Kagerou called out to his Stand as air rushed back into his lungs, his feline companion raking its fingers across the cold earth. "Blow Kujo away!"

The ground beneath Jomei had caved in slightly as a minor explosion blasted into it, the front end of his leather shoe – and by proxy, several of his toes – had bent in the process as he started to fall. Killer Queen landed a hard punch on his abdomen, the force sending him skidding across the grass.

"Why isn't he using his ability? If he can rewind time, he surely would have used it when I had damaged his foot." Kagerou murmured to himself. "If he's telling the truth, he must have some sort of limit. I just need to find out what that said limit is, and he won't be a threat any longer."

Jomei had struggled to pick himself back up, his chest heaving as a stabbing pain cut through four of his toes on his left foot. He felt as if he could choke from the pain, knowing that it had been no use to try and move them. They had been rendered useless and broken.

"If he's able to generate that much power from such a small explosion, I might be in trouble." Jomei's chest heaved as he spoke to himself, reaching into his coat pocket as he did so. "But my Deaf Havana is faster. I can only rewind time once a day, but I can't let him know that. I have to keep him scared and on edge."

"You shouldn't be able to move that foot any more. I'm sure that if you even tried, it would drive you to tears." Yoshikage Kagerou grinned, extending his palm towards Kagerou's face as he walked forward. "I wonder how Joji will feel when he realizes that his father let him down."

"ORA!" Jomei screamed, tossing a pocket knife towards Yoshikage's index finger on his right hand, effectively slicing through it with ease. "I told you, the worst thing that you could do is mess with a man's family!"

Yoshikage Kagerou watched as his index finger fell from his right hand, having little to no time to react as he felt dozens of merciless fists bury themselves within his abdomens, his ears ringing as he heard Deaf Havana cry out like a blood thirsty warrior. "ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA ORA!"

Jomei Kujo could feel Yoshikage Kagerou try to tear at his jacket as he attempted to fight back against the onslaught of blows, his nails tearing a piece of his jacket away before his body had been sent flying, blood seeping out from his mouth, barely able to groan in pain while he felt as if he was going to crack into millions of pieces.

He only stared at his enemy for a moment before he immediately darted away from him, his body filling with dozens of aches as he did so. Jomei ran towards him, bile rising in his throat as the stabbing pain in his toes shot through his bones.

Jomei had started to limp, but he did not dare lose sight of Yoshikage as they ran throughout the panicking city, the police sirens fading into the background as ambulances shot past them, though they had remained ignored as Morioh begged for help.

Yoshikage Kagerou had managed to make his way towards a familiar steep hill, sliding down it as he heard Jomei yell out in pain, his emerald eyes not daring to turn back for a second as the enormous set of Wall-Eyes had become visible.

"You're not getting away from me, Yoshikage!" Jomei called out as his tears filled his eyes, the pain becoming almost unbearable. Without another thought, he felt his body fall over as blood seeped from his damaged foot, his eyes becoming bloodshot as he had felt his limbs crash against the hard earth. "Goddamn it!"

"You have done well, Yoshikage Kagerou." An unfamiliar, feminine voice infiltrated Jomei's ears, forcing him to hold his head up to see Alandria Megumi standing above him, a rainbow colored Stand by her side. "We can use this one to track down Joji Kujo."

"Wait, you're-" Jomei had been cut off as Art of Anesthesia's tendrils wrapped around the entirety of his tall frame, muffled screams barely escaping from the flesh prison. "Urk!"

"I'm sure that if we manage to convince him, he will show us the way." Alandria grinned, steadily moving towards the Wall-Eyes, carrying Jomei all the while. "But, we must make sure that he does not suffer too greatly, as that could have negative effects on his state of mind. Let us get to work, Yoshikage Kagerou."

"Yes. I understand."

* * *

Joji Kujo and Yuina Hirose had rushed to the office as fast as they possibly could; the former had used his Philosopher King to heal Abel November's wounds, but, the hospital staff had refused to let him leave before they inspected him for any further injuries.

November had told them to hurry and save Jomei, but when they had arrived at the office building, they had found absolutely nothing – nothing aside from a part of the ground being blown inward, and a piece of Jomei's jacket on the dirt.

"This is my father's jacket. He was definitely fighting someone!" Joji started to grit his teeth, his violet aura washing over his slender frame. "Philosopher King, track my father down!"

"Joji, wait!" Yuina called to him, placing a hand on his shoulder which prompted him to turn around, his entire body shaking with rage and anticipation. "You need to think about what you're doing! Will you listen to me for just a second?"

"What's there to think about?! My old man is in trouble, damn it!" Joji shouted, his Philosopher King materializing as a mind numbing rage infected his brain. "If you're trying to stop me, then get the hell out of the way!"

"Joji, for god's sake, be sensible!" Yuina yelled, slapping the young man across the face without a moment of hesitation. "If you go to fight him, you're going to die! You saw what Yoshikage can do, and he's probably with that Alandria girl you told us about, too! We need to come up with a plan before we rush head first into this!"

Joji took a few moments to think about this. He had felt his rushed, heavy breath slow down to a calm and steady pace, the rage inside of his blood ceasing to boil as he pocketed the shredded clothing into his pants pocket.

"Yeah, you're right. Sorry, won't happen again." Joji sighed heavily, his Stand fading out of existence as he turned back to the road. "We should go ahead and tell the others what happened, before they go and look for us. Your folks are probably worried sick about you, too."

"Right, we're going to need all the help we can get." Yuina nodded in agreement. "After this, we need to get as much rest as we can before we come up with a plan. We need to gather as much information as we can before anything else… are you sure you'll be okay until then?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine." Joji murmured. "Let's go home for now."

* * *

 **Name: Jomei Kujo  
Age: 36  
Stand: Deaf Havana  
** **Stand statistics  
Destructive Power: A  
Speed: A  
Durability: E  
Precision: B  
Range: D  
Development Potential: E**


	11. Life Will Change

"Mister November, someone is here to see you!" The nurse chimed gleefully, the groggy and groaning November rubbing his eyes as sunlight flooded into his hospital room, the front door opening to reveal a familiar face. "I'll leave the two of you alone, call if you need me!"

"Will do, ma'am." A familiar voice broke through the sterile air of the hospital room, prompting November to look towards the muscular man with hope, yet dread, in his eyes. "Hey there, November. It's been a few years."

Before Abel November's eyes was a man he had known as Thomas Lowell, and it appeared that time had been rather kind to him. He had managed to maintain his muscular physique, sporting a buzz cut for his short black hair, and he had been wearing a pair of camouflage pants which had matched with his shirt, his shoes a basic set of white sneakers. His eyes had several bags underneath them, as if he had not slept in months.

"What a sight for sore eyes." November smiled weakly, slowly moving to sit on the side of his hospital bed. "I'm glad to see that the flight here didn't take very long. I hope your wife wasn't too mad at you when you left."

"I said a friend needed my help, and she understood." Thomas explained, slipping his hands into his pockets. "I'm glad to see that you're doing pretty alright, expected you to be a little more banged up since you're in the hospital… but, where's Jovanni?"

November felt a familiar lump form in his throat as he heard that name, memories from that night flooding into his mind. "Thomas, I don't know how to tell you this, but… Jovanni is dead. Our enemy killed him before getting away."

"Goddamn it. I was already scared to death of something like that happening, but I didn't know we would be knee deep in shit like this." Thomas mumbled, stepping forward so he could place his hand on November's shoulder. "I know you guys were really good friends. How are you holding up?"

"I'm not holding up, that's the thing." November choked back his tears, running a shaking hand through his ruffled, graying hair. "Some of the allies I've met here ran after Yoshikage last night, but they haven't called back yet."

"From what you told me, they're only kids." Thomas said, crossing his arms. "Are you sure that they're ready for something like this? We were fully grown men when we fought Vladimir, and we almost died every day we waged war against him."

"I don't know who you're talking about, but we don't have a choice but to be ready." Thomas's ears perked up as he turned around, analyzing the young man before him. He stared downward at Joji Kujo, the height difference between the two had almost been jarring. "Is this your friend, November?"

"Yeah, my name is Thomas Lowell. It's nice to meet you." Thomas extended his hand, shaking Joji's firmly as he spoke. "I heard about you when November called. You seem pretty stubborn, so that means we'll get along just fine."

"Good, we don't have enough time to argue, anyway." Joji nodded, turning to November. "So, are they finished with you? You only had to stay for the night, right?"

"Yeah. I just need to get dressed, then I should be able to go ahead and get the hell out of here." November said, slipping off of the bed as he searched for his clothes, his loose patient gown swaying as he moved. "What exactly happened last night? Did you catch Yoshikage?"

"No, we weren't even close." Joji sighed, pulling the shredded piece of his father's coat from his pocket. "But, we managed to find this. I was going to use my ability to fix it so we could find him, but Yuina told me that we would need to come up with a plan first."

"She's a smart girl." November said, snatching his clothes from the table beside his hospital bed. "Well, we still need to hold a meeting somewhere. Where do you think we can go that's safe? It's possible that Yoshikage is still out there."

"We can all go to my house. My mom leaves for work around eleven in the morning, so she'll be gone in about thirty minutes." Joji replied, pushing the door to the hospital room open. "She'll probably think it's weird, but I can just say you guys are my tutors or something."

"That sounds like a pretty decent plan to me." Thomas smiled, marching out the door as he did so. "I'll be waiting for you out here, November. Let us know when you're ready to go."

* * *

November pulled his usual attire onto his body, moving out from the hospital after he had spoken with a nurse regarding his current condition. They had remained mostly silent until they had managed to reach Joji's home, the boy turning the doorknob slowly.

"Hey mom, I'm home!" Joji called, stepping to the side to allow November and Thomas entry. "I have two tutors from school who are gonna help me with my math homework, is that okay with you?"

"Eh? You don't even bother to call first?" Tomoko grumbled, stepping out into the family room to see the two men standing beside her son. "Just don't give them too much trouble while I'm out. Got it?"

"They'll keep me in line, I'm sure." Joji said, waving goodbye to his mother as she shut the door behind him. "That went pretty smoothly. I'll call up my friends and get them all over here."

It had only taken a matter of fifteen minutes for Joji's allies to arrive, and they were composed of the following three members: Minato Nijimura, Yuina Hirose, and Yamato Kawajiri. They had their eyes and ears peeled open, ready to listen.

"So, that Jovanni guy is dead now, huh?" Minato frowned, clenching his hand into a tight fist. "And it might be the same case for your dad, too. What total bullshit."

"He's alive. I know it." Joji said, his eyes suddenly burning into Minato's skull. "This isn't just an idealist train of thought, I just know that my old man is alive and well."

"The fact that you can still think that way is either incredibly admirable, or insanely stupid." Yamato remarked, his gaze shifting towards the kitchen table. "But, if we're going to do this, we should assume the worst."

"He's right. If you go in there with the thought of your father being hurt, or worse, it's going to distract you from the battle." Thomas added, nodding his head in agreement with Yamato. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's alive. But, we need to focus on saving this town from these guys, too."

"Yeah, I know." Joji sighed, pressing the piece of his father's shredded jacket onto the kitchen table. "Alandria doesn't know what my Stand ability is. I don't know what my Act Three can do exactly, but if I fix Jomei's jacket, I'll be able to find him."

"That ability is the key to this operation, then." Thomas said understandingly, pulling out his revolver and laying it on the table. "This is my Stand. Well, to be more precise, the six bullets inside of it are the Stand. They recycle, and when they wound enemies, they retract and use that life energy to heal me. I call it The Commanded."

The team had decided to spend the next three minutes explaining their abilities to Thomas and November, so they could obtain a broader knowledge of what they would be working with during the operation.

"We'll split up into two teams of three, then." Joji informed them, pressing his fearful hands down onto the wooden table. "Yoshikage won't be expecting me or November to come near him, which is going to shock him a little bit. Minato is going to be joining us, too."

"But, that gives you all of the hard hitters!" Yuina interrupted, crossing her arms as she hook her head in disapproval. "Why do we have to fight the ghost lady all by ourselves?"

"Think about it." Thomas said. "If I'm understanding the full story, Alandria has only fought the burlier, more muscular Stands. She isn't expecting something more versatile than what she's used to."

"Speaking of versatile Stands, I'm going to need to talk to you about something after this meeting is over, Thomas." Joji spoke, earning a nod from his elder. "Do these teams sound good enough for you guys?"

"I like it. But I have a question." November said, gathering the attention of his comrades as he started to speak. "Just, how in the actual hell are we supposed to kill a ghost?"

"I have a theory, but I don't have any tangible proof backing this up, but it is a theory." Joji started, looking towards Minato as he did so. "When we fought Alandria, did she even try to chase us down?"

"Huh? Now that you mention it, she barely moved an inch." Minato murmured, rubbing his chin quizzically. "That doesn't make any sense. For someone who seems so desperate to kill us, it doesn't seem like she cared that much now that I think about it."

"Yeah, it was almost as if she couldn't leave." Joji continued. "I think she's bound or something, since she is a spirit after all. We need to destroy the Wall-eyes."

"Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" Thomas asked, his eyes widening slightly. "If she's a spirit and she's bound to this life by something, it could be due to some sort of unfulfilled grudge. That's why she's still here. She's looking for revenge."

"But, who do you think she would even have a grudge against?" Yuina questioned, raising one of her eyebrows. "Could it be you, Joji?"

"I guess it's possible, but I don't think it's me for two reasons." Joji answered. "When we fought, she didn't seem like she was going out of her mind when she was trying to kill me. Or maybe she was, and she just always appears to be the calmest fucker on the planet. Second, Yoshikage went after Jovanni and my old man before me. She probably thinks I'm more dangerous with allies, but it seems like she's just killing off Stand users. She somehow knew about their locations, too."

"That leaves two more questions, then." November interjected. "Why is she doing this, and why is she working with Yoshikage?"

"I have no idea. I think we'll find out when we go to fight them, and steal my dad back." Joji scooped up the torn piece of cloth from the table. "I know where Alandria is, but, I have a hunch that Yoshikage is with my dad. The Wall-Eyes are mostly in plain sight, she wouldn't hide a kidnapped body there. It would threaten the secret of her existence, and the safety of her home."

"We should start composing ourselves before we head out, too." Yamato said, his stomach grumbling. "Besides, if things somehow go wrong, I don't want to die on an empty stomach."

November sighed. "At least someone here still has their sense of humor."

* * *

Jomei Kujo felt a dull sting resonate within his body as he forced his eyes open. He could see that he had been surrounded by at least hundreds of insanely tall trees, which had managed to somehow block out most of the sunlight that had been fighting to force its way inside.

"I am glad to see that you are awake, Jomei Kujo." Alandria said, hovering in front of him with her hands on her hips. "This forest is as far as I can travel, so I am rather grateful that I have a chance to ask you a few questions."

"You don't need to pretend like this isn't an interrogation, so please, drop the pleasantries." Jomei stated bluntly, and he would have flipped her off but he could feel that his hands had been tied and bound. "Also, I'm not telling you anything. Go fuck yourself."

Alandria shrugged. "You can keep up this act of defiance all you like, but it isn't going to assist anyone. Not you, not me, and certainly not your son. So, you will tell me what I want to hear if you want to walk away from here alive."

"What does my son have to do with this?" Jomei growled, attempting to pull apart the bindings that had started to dig into his flesh, realizing that his legs had been bound together as well. "It doesn't matter, you'd kill me anyway. Yoshikage told you about my ability, I'm sure, so you have no reason to avoid killing me. But, let me tell you this; if you plan on laying a single hair on my boy's head, you might as well kill me now."

"Why would I do such a thing?" Alandria asked, genuinely confused but curious due to the emotion and rage flowing from Jomei's voice. "He is just a boy, why do you care?"

"He's my son, damn it! If you touch him, no god alive will be able to fix what I do to you!" Jomei screamed, his golden aura sparking as his anger started to numb his body from the sheer intensity from it. "Now, tell me, just what the hell happened to you?!"

"What are you talking about?" Alandria asked, a cold chill pressing down onto her chest. "We've never met before. You're not making any sense to me."

"I didn't know you back then, but I found out what had happened to you, Alandria Megumi." Jomei stated, watching the woman flinch as he said her name. "So, is that what's going on right now? You're a ghost?"

"Be quiet!" Alandria's voice had started to rise, her hands clutching each side of her head as she spoke. "When you say that, you make me want to kill you even more. If you knew, why didn't you do something about it, you worthless lump of meat?!"

"I only found out after it happened!" Jomei shouted, steeling himself and summoning his resolve as he felt a strong wind blow past him. "Why are you doing this? Did we do something to you?!"

"Enough!" Alandria screamed as if she were a banshee, her Stand materializing. Its tentacles shot towards Jomei, wrapping around his throat as it held him up against a tree. "I will make you understand what you and your damn kind have done to me!"

* * *

Alandria Megumi had lost the ability to perceive time normally after she had died for whatever reason, but, she had felt as if the writhing ferocity and agony in her heart had been alive and well since the day it had been born. She could feel the rage festering inside of her every hour of every day, infecting every moment of her prolonged existence.

Deep within the forest, just near the outskirts of Morioh, had been a very tiny temple. Inside of the single room temple sat a youthful woman in front of a small wooden table, her lips curled into a welcoming smile as five adult men traveled inside of it, dressed in rags.

"Ma'am, do you have any food that you could possibly spare us?" One of them had asked, sinking onto his knees as his stomach grumbled loudly. "We've been looking and begging for food for days, but no one will even bat an eye! Please, help us!"

A visitor. This was an incredibly rare occurrence for Alandria, she had barely any human interaction since she had not left the forest in quite some time. It had been so long since she had spoken a single word to another living human being, but she would have loved nothing more than to please them.

"Allow me to get that for you." Alandria spoke softly as she picked herself up off the floor. She had disappeared for only five minutes before she had brought out five plates of freshly cooked fish for the five men. "Please, eat to your heart's content."

The men had eaten like savage animals, and while this would have disgusted most, it more so pleased her. The men had soon finished eating, bowing their heads to Alandria with their hands on their knees, grateful for the meal they had been given.

"Thank you so much!" The man said, bowing his head to the woman multiple times, feeling tears well up in the corners of his eyes. "If there's anything we can do in return for you, please, let us know!

"That will not be necessary, but, I am a little curious." Alandria said. "How did you know about this place? I have not had a visitor in a month."

"We were looking for food, and we had gone wherever possible to find something. We just got lucky when we found this temple." The man explained to her, watching her nod along as he spoke. "My name is Kaito. What is your name, miss?"

"My name is Alandria Megumi, it is an absolute pleasure to make your acquaintance." Alandria bowed her head. "It has been so long since I have spoken to anyone, and I was starting to feel lonely. You have my gratitude."

"You're a sweet girl, we'll definitely come and visit you again." Kaito grinned, his friends nodding along in agreement. "I do have a question, though. Why are you all the way out here, by yourself, in the first place?"

"It was how I was raised. I have been told that isolation builds character, and it brings the soul a sort of peace. My mother had done it, and her grandmother before her. It is training to become a priest, above all else." Alandria spoke gently, giving Kaito a warm smile."I only ever leave this room to gather food. I have learned many things in my time here, so I am grateful."

"Well, it is always good to meet people and learn something new. I'll have to talk to you about this some more when we come to visit again! But, we should really get going." Kaito said as he stood up, bowing to Alandria once more. "Goodbye for now!"

Though they had parted ways for the time being, Kaito had made a habit to spend time with Alandria, bringing his friends along each and every time, who had very much enjoyed their company as they sat and talked. Though, peace had soon run its course.

Thunder boomed above the lush forest, shaking Alandria's minuscule temple as she huddled into a corner, praying for safety as her friends sat around the middle of the temple in a small circle.

"Terrible night for a storm, what with people disappearing and all, lately. It's a damn shame that the world has come to where it is now." Kaito frowned, standing up and shoving his hands into his newly bought jacket. "Does that kind of stuff scare you, Alandria?"

"If I have to be honest, then yes, it absolutely terrifies me." Alandria shook with fear, her entire body turning pale from the fright. "Killers have no place in this world, they don't deserve to live in a wonderful world like ours."

"I wouldn't say that our world is wonderful at all, Alandria. It's a nice place when you're just a kid, but it can be pretty damn ugly." Kaito remarking, turning towards Alandria. "Speaking of ugly and terrible things, did you hear about how all of the victims so far have been young women?"

"H-huh?" Alandria stammered as horrified tears started to roll down her pale face, her eyes widening as she saw Kaito pull a revolver out from his coat pocket. "Kaito? W-what are you doing?!"

"Just doing what I do." Kaito licked his lips and fired at the petrified Alandria, who could barely force herself to whimper as the bullet shot through her abdomen. "Alright, let's get down to business, boys. Take whatever you can find and toss her body somewhere."

Alandria fell onto her pierced belly, blood seeping out from her small frame as whatever color she had in her body slowly drained. All she had felt was hate. Gut twisting hate that was strong enough to undo death itself – but it was too late, as the next bullet went right between her eyes, forcing her life to fade to black.

* * *

"My god." Jomei gasped in shock, but he had also been begging for air as the Stand's tendril continued to slip around his neck. "I knew you had been killed, but… I'm so sorry."

"Sorry? What does sorry mean when the dregs of your kind still walk this god forsaken rock?!" Alandria screeched, tossing Jomei against the sturdy tree. "Every breath you humans take makes my blood boil! I will do everything in my power to make sure your race dies by my hands!"

"Guh!" Jomei coughed, his bindings had barely shifted despite the impact. He could still feel the burning sensation around his throat. "Humanity isn't to blame you! You were wronged by a couple of assholes, but you're letting your anger control you, because you're still young and you don't know how to control it! You're shooting your rage at the wrong people!"

"Even after I had come back, I'm sure those men and more like them are still out there!" Alandria argued, a hot pink aura flowing out of her body like a river. "I will not allow anyone, especially Stand users, get in my way!"

"You can't even see that you've already lost!" Jomei coughed once more, grunting as he attempted to force himself out of his bindings. "Joji is going to come here with his friends, you don't stand a damn chance, even with Yoshikage Kagerou's help!"

"They're all going to die, either way. A mere child cannot stand up against true justice." Alandria replied, her Art of Anesthesia fading out of existence.

"You're no better than the men who killed you! Are you really going to kill those children?! You're a monster!"

"Yes, and once I'm through with them, I'm going to make sure you died how I lived. Alone."

* * *

 **Name: Alandria Megumi  
Age: Deceased (Eighteen physically)  
Stand: Art of Anesthesia  
Stand statistics  
Destructive Power: B  
Speed: A  
Durability: A  
Precision: B  
Range: C  
Development Potential: A**


	12. Broken Love

"This is it." Joji exhaled slowly, his hand slowly holding out the piece of shredded cloth from his father's jacket. "You guys know where you're supposed to go, right?"

"Yeah. I'm not ready, but we can't afford to wait any longer." Yuina sighed, holding her marker tightly in between her fingers. "We're going to make sure Yoshikage and Alandria never hurt anyone ever again!"

"Like hell I'm going to just stand aside and let them do whatever the fuck they want." Minato said, gritting his teeth. "I'll get a few damn good hits in for my sister."

"I would be losing my mind right now if it weren't for my Stand's ability." Yamato sighed, shrugging as he steeled his resolve. "Whatever, then. Let's do this."

"This is for Morioh, but, this is also for Jovanni." November clenched his fist, his voice both quiet and fierce somehow. "We're going to make him damn proud of us."

"If it wasn't for Jovanni, I'm damn sure I wouldn't be the man I am today. This is for him, for everyone Yoshikage has killed, and for my family." Thomas pulled The Commanded out from its holster, aiming it at the sky. "Let's make these motherfuckers know what payback feels like."

"We should go ahead and get this show on the road, then." Joji stated, his Philosopher King manifesting as his violet aura surrounded the shredded cloth, which had suddenly started to float away from the group. "Let's go!"

Adrenaline had pumped through Joji's veins as he and his friends split up into their designated teams of three, his sights now set on the shredded cloth in front of him, all of his focus centering onto his main goal.

However, he had felt an absence once Yuina had dispatched from the group, though he had made an effort to try and bury his worries for her. If he could not do so, there would be absolutely no way that he would be able to focus. He could not neglect the truth, either; she was his baby sister. If anything happened to her, he knew that all hell would break loose.

November and Minato had not said a single word to him or each other since they had detached. Maybe they had been as anxious as he was, or maybe they knew that they could not lie to themselves about their current situation. It was very possible that they would not be alive by the end of the battle. That was the reality that they had been facing.

Their running had led them into a thick forest, which Joji only had fearful memories of. He had died near this place once already, so it was quite possible that fate had other plans for him. At least, that was what he had thought.

Sunlight could barely penetrate through the trees as the three Stand users had started to slow down, noticing that the shredded piece of Jomei's jacket had started to slow down as well.

"I think we're here." November murmured as they turned a large patch of tall grass, feeling a slight bit of the weight on their hearts lift once they could see an unconscious Jomei laying against a tree on his side, his face bruised and his clothes torn. "He's still breathing. We're not too late."

"We can get him somewhere safe and kick Yoshikage's ass after that, then." Minato said, slowly and cautiously stepping forward as his Manawar materialized. "We just gotta be careful."

"Thank you, God, if you're out there." Joji whispered, choking back tears as he had approached his sleeping father – though, he had suddenly stopped in his tracks. He looked upward, the tree branches above him creaking as if a weight had been placed upon them. "Huh? What the hell is that sound?"

It had felt as if an eternity had passed as the creaking sound had perpetuated throughout the empty forest air, though all of them felt their heart rates spike as they saw a man, with what appeared to be a feline Stand's body wrapped around him, land on the forest floor.

"That's the piece of shit we're looking for. I should have known this wouldn't be so simple." November said, Humiliation phasing into existence. "Stand aside, Yoshikage Kagerou. We're here for that man you're holding hostage."

"And I'm here to make sure none of you get in my way." Yoshikage Kagerou smirked, folding his arms as utter confidence oozed out from his voice. "You brought children here. I thought that you saw yourself as a good man."

"Cut the shit." Joji stated bluntly, the fear in his mind sinking into the depths as he clenched his fists tightly. "My name is Joji Kujo and I'm here for my father. If you hand him over, I'll make sure nto to break all of your bones for killing all of those innocent people."

"I merely did what was best for me. Isn't that what life is all about?" Yoshikage Kagerou grinned, his dark violent aura spilling around his tall and lean frame. "Make no mistake, boy. If you came here to challenge me, you must be ready and willing to kill. Luckily, for me, that is second nature."

"You're not wrong, but you still killed so many people like they were animals, without even blinking a goddamn eye!" Minato shouted, baring his teeth. "I don't know what I even expected, but you're nothing but a damn joke!"

"I do what must be done." Yoshikage Kagerou shrugged, his gaze shifting towards November. "And you're somehow still alive. That's fine. It just means that killing you will be a little more personal than usual."

"Shut your mouth and fight!" Minato cried out, concrete shooting out from his Manawar's open palm. It had been aimed towards Yoshikage's head. "We'll take you out! Right here, right now!"

Yoshikage Kagerou grunted as the wave of concrete barely missed him, the end of the concrete embedding itself in the tree behind him. His Killer Queen extended its hand upward, pulling itself and its user onto the wide block of concrete.

"Come then, and try with all of your might to strike me down! But, let me warn you!" Yoshikage Kagerou yelled, his dark violet aura practically overflowing. "Because of your insolence, I will make sure to rid this world of everyone you loved! You dared to strike down Yoshikage Kagerou, the one above all of humanity!"

* * *

Yuina, Yamato, and Thomas had arrived in front of the rocky structure that had been known as a Wall-Eye. Yuina had been shaking in her boots, though the other two seemed completely unfazed by the pressure surrounding the area.

"Get the hell out here!" Thomas shouted without a moment's hesitation, not paying any mind as Yuina flinched from the sudden yell. "Unless you're actually scared of us?!"

The three felt the silence slowly lift from the area, watching in awe as Alandria Megumi climbed out from the side of the Wall-eye, her eyes analyzing the humans standing in front of her humble abode.

"What do you desire, and why have you come here?" Alandria asked, her hot pink aura slipping over her while she shot her gaze towards Yuina and Yamato. "I know of you two children, but this man is a stranger to me. Why have you come?"

"How do you know who we are?" Yamato asked, his Stand not yet taking effect as he had been too far away from the ghostly woman. "We've never even met before."

"Wall-Eyes are placed all throughout Morioh, are they not? They feed me information when I reside with them, they aid me." Alandria stated, running her hand along the smooth stone. "You have both been assisting Joji Kujo, as has Minato Nijimura. I know of your abilities, so there is no need for me to worry about a battle. So, I will ask again; why have you come here?"

"W-we came here to stop you!" Yuina shouted and stammered in an attempt to swallow the utter terror that had been rattling her bones. "You and that Yoshikage guy are hurting innocent people, they've done nothing to you!"

"You've managed to figure out that Yoshikage and I are working together? Impressive." Alandria smirked in amusement, her Art of Anesthesia phasing by her side. "Do you truly believe you can kill what is already dead, though, child?"

"I don't know, so let's find out!" Thomas drew out his revolver before Alandria could even possibly register what he had said or even his movements, the burly man pulling the trigger of the revolver six times. "How's that for a goddamn try?"

Alandria felt each bullet pass through her guts, causing an indescribable – yet, familiar – pain to wrack her slender frame. She felt rage cloud her heart and her mind as the bullets rerouted to Thomas's revolver. She could feel her wounds slowly closing up as she had started to shake violently.

"Insolent human, I am going to make you wish that you had never been born!" Alandria screeched, her Art of Anesthesia's tendrils shooting towards Thomas. "You will all suffer the same horrible fate, by my hands!"

"Shit, hit the ground!" Thomas shouted, diving onto the dirt as the tendril had just barely passed over his head, the two teenagers quickly following his lead. "This is it!"

"Stand still!" Minato yelled as his Manawar shot pieces of concrete at Killer Queen, which had managed to deflect every chunk of the rock that rocketed towards it. "Can someone give me a hand here?!"

"DORA!" Joji shouted in unison with Philosopher King, its fists easily breaking through the concrete. "Get down here and fight, you rotten piece of shit!"

November charged as a quarter of the concrete slab collapsed, attempting to land a solid punch as Yoshikage Kagerou fell, only to miss as the man jumped off the side of the slab of his own volition.

"Humiliation!" November cried, his monstrous Stand's fist crunching against Yoshikage Kagerou's nose, though the now cringing man had managed to push himself away from his opponents. "We have first blood. Is your confidence wavering yet, Yoshikage?"

"This battle is far from over." Yoshikage Kagerou wiped the fresh blood from his nose, his large grin returning to his face as he spoke. "Let me tell you something, to make this fight a little more interesting. I've placed a time bomb in this forest, and when it goes… well, you know what has happened before. How does that make you feel?"

"I don't think he's bluffing, even though it scares the shit out of me." Joji scowled, paranoia suddenly settling into the back of his mind. "We've seen what he can do to a single building with his power. If he can really use power of that magnitude, we're in trouble."

"I'll also tell you that it's at a time limit of ten minutes, but don't get too worried. The time may speed up or slow down depending on how I'm feeling." Yoshikage Kagerou explained, turning towards November. "This is my ability, Another One Bites the Dust. I'm sure you're familiar with it."

"We'll just have to put you down like the dog you are in ten minutes, then! Bring it on!" Minato shouted, though he watched in confusion as Yoshikage Kagerou chuckled, the remains of the concrete slab above them quickly collapsing. "Oh shit!"

Concrete chunks had started to pelt Minato, forcing him to throw himself to the forest floor as his Stand shielded him from the onslaught. November had followed suit, covering his head as he did so. Joji, however, immediately charged towards Kagerou as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

Yoshikage Kagerou's eyes widened in surprise as the young man rushed at him, his fist only narrowing missing as he moved backward quickly, sweat dripping down his face as he avoided every incoming blow, but just barely.

"You're just like your clown of a father, boy!" Yoshikage Kagerou clenched his teeth, the comparison between the two was almost too much for him. He had wanted to tear him apart, just as badly as his father. "You're both headstrong and self-righteous. Stay the hell out of my business, or die!"

"The moment you stole someone's life away from them, you made it my business." Joji shook his head, not daring to look back to check on his friends; he knew anything could create an opening for his opponent to strike. "But, thank you for the compliment about my dad. I don't think what my words are going to be as kind when I return the favor, though."

"What impudence." Yoshikage Kagerou sighed, his breathing steadily rising as irritation flooded into his voice. "Well, let me tell you a secret, then. Would you like to know where the bomb I planted is?"

"Don't play games with me." Joji stated bluntly, a sort of tranquil fury taking control of his mind. "You aren't going to distract me with your bullshit. I'm just going to beat the shit out of you until you disable it."

"You're stubborn, you don't need to make this any harder than it has to be. So shut up and listen. I think you are going to love this." Yoshikage Kagerou started to chuckle, his emerald eyes filled with excitement. "I planted the bomb on your father."

Joji had felt the world come to a sudden, abrupt stop as his mind processed what he had just been told. His father was the bomb. Kagerou had to be bluffing, his reasoning told him it was merely a trick to blind him with fury. However, the rest of Joji did not take even a moment to listen to what reason had to say.

"You're going to regret that, you freak." Joji murmured, sprinting towards Yoshikage Kagerou as a steady flow of hate filled the inside of his chest. "I won't let anyone get in my way! You're mine!"

"Killer Queen!" Yoshikage Kagerou shouted as his feline Stand came to his aid, holding up its arms in an X formation to defend itself from the incoming flood of fists. "Don't let this dirty bastard lay a single finger on me!"

Yoshikage Kagerou felt a dull pain smash against his abdomen, feeling as if hundreds of pounds of brick had been launched into his chest cavity. He could barely comprehend his surroundings before one final blow launched him further away from Joji, who had immediately dashed towards him.

"Joji, don't charge in without a damn plan! Control yourself!" Minato yelled, attempting to run after his comrade, though he had stopped once November had clutched the side of his arm tightly. "Huh? Why are you stopping me? He's gonna need our help!"

"This is Joji's fight right now, Minato. I completely understand how he feels, even if there is still some sort of hope left." November said understandingly, slowly removing his hand from the teenage boy's arm. "We just need to stay close and watch carefully. Don't intervene unless you have to, because you might end up confusing him."

Minato sighed and stepped away from the battle, watching his comrade land another solid blood on the cold blooded murderer's chin. He could not help but feel worried and fearful for his friend, but, most of all, he had felt an overwhelming sense of pride. He had changed so much since he had first met him, and he was proving it here.

"DORA!" Joji's fist crunched against Yoshikage Kagerou's nose, his knuckles bloodied as he panted, his footsteps growing heavier with every step he took towards his opponent. "I hate motherfuckers like you. You think life is all about what you want, but you never stop and think, that maybe you're not all that. It just doesn't happen. That's the problem with people like you, you use the helpless as hostages. I already wanted to you pay for your crimes, but now, I just want to break you."

"You pretentious fucker! Don't underestimate me!" Yoshikage Kagerou angrily spat, lunging towards Joji as his body twitched and ached from the pain that had been wrought upon his body. "I, Yoshikage Kagerou, will be victorious! I cannot lose!"

Without warning, Yoshikage Kagerou's body instantly crashed into the forest floor, his fingers wriggling as they had so desperately tried to grasp Joji's shoe – but his efforts were all for nothing. He could barely move a centimeter, much less an inch.

"What the hell did you do to my body?!" Yoshikage Kagerou grunted, trying to force himself off the ground, only for his face to smack down into the dirt. "Damn it! Is this your ability, Joji Kujo?!"

"I think so." Joji stepped back slightly, only to ensure that his enemy would be unable to touch him. "It didn't take effect until you came near me, so this ability must have a pretty short range, then…"

"I think Joji has Yoshikage beaten." November said, taking a few steps forward so he could obtain a better look of the situation. "He keeps trying to get back up, the stupid bastard. No matter what he does, he won't be able to win unless he manages to turn Joji into a bomb."

"I just hope Joji doesn't let his anger make him fucking lose it." Minato said, concerned. "When someone Joji cares about gets hurt or fucked with, it's like he becomes a totally different person. It scares the shit out of me."

"Disable the bomb and I'll undo my Philosopher King's ability." Joji stated coldly, his harsh expression unmoving. "I've figured something out, too. You've been avoiding direct confrontation because you know your blasts won't be enough. You put too much power into Bites the Dust, your ability works by disbursing certain amounts of power onto different objects. Am I right?"

"Damn it all! I can't be beaten, I can't!" Yoshikage Kagerou cried, his aura spiking as he clawed at the earth beneath him. "This is not the way things are supposed to end!"

"Either you disable your bomb and live, I kill you and undo it anyway, or we all die together. Pick one, you piece of rat shit." Joji said bluntly, shoving his hands into his pockets. "The clock is ticking, Yoshikage."

"B-bites the Dust… disable." Yoshikage Kagerou mumbled almost solemnly, the feeling of utter defeat overtaking him as he watched Jomei Kujo slowly wake from his deep sleep. "I'm going to kill each and every one of you. I swear it."

"You're going to spend the rest of your worthless life giving back to society, instead of stealing." Joji said, his voice slowly becoming lighter. "So, lie there, and think about what you've done while you suffer like the dog you are."

* * *

At approximately the same time the battle against Yoshikage Kagerou had started to unfold, the struggle against Alandria Megumi had only intensified. No one had landed any hits on another as tendrils shot across the landscape, the three Stand users could only dodge and attempt to find a way around the writhing mass of tentacles.

"This is getting damn annoying!" Thomas yelled as he fired his revolver, the glowing green bullet only grazing the side of Alandria's head, leaving her unfazed. "Goddamn it! One of you, think of something!"

"I'm on it!" Yuina pressed her marker onto the ground as she yelled, quickly sketching what appeared to be a fairly muscular man, though the end of his left arm appeared to be an enormous cannon. "Let's see if this will work!"

The muscular drawing fired an enormous cannonball towards Alandria, who had attempted to block the attack with half of her Stand's tendrils. However, the blow had managed to force them apart, and then slammed against the side of her body. She screamed in pain, her body skidding across the solid earth.

"Hurry!" Thomas shouted as he and Yamato darted towards the dazed Alandria, his revolver pointed straight at her skull. "We can't let her set up her defenses again!"

Yamato had stopped once he had managed to move within five meters of her body, one of Art of Anesthesia's tendrils suddenly slipping around his neck, his hands grasping at it desperately as its grips slowly tightened.

"You were fated to lose this battle from the start, you fool!" Alandria laughed, staring into Thomas's eyes with her own lavender orbs, her hot pink aura erupting around her. "Nothing is stopping me from choking this boy to death. If nothing else, I want to do it so badly, but I can see your trigger finger shaking from terror. Even the girl can't do a thing to harm me. You have lost, utterly and completely. Now, lay down your weapon and accept your deaths. It is the only salvation you pigs have in this life."

"You shouldn't assume so quickly that I'm helpless." Yamato said, the silver button on his uniform shining. "You're within my range, Alandria. I guess we won this battle after all, so you can release me from your grip now."

"What are you talking about?" Alandria asked, blinking in confusion as she stared at the button on Yamato's uniform. She felt a sudden nausea bite into her senses, her Stand's tendrils loosening as she felt sweat drip down her spine. "W-what did you do to me?!"

Raw fear had taken over all of her senses, her hands pulling at her hair as she backed away from Yamato, who had merely taken a step back as her hot pink aura only grew. She had felt so primal and so humiliated, thinking that she had been infected with a disease of some kind.

Suddenly, Art of Anesthesia's head appeared to open like the dripping maw of a ravenous beast – and a flood of murky darkness poured out from it, seeping all across the landscape and even into the lush forest.

The world for the Stand users had suddenly grown dark, the shadows spreading from Art of Anesthesia's maw smothering them as they felt their consciousness fade away, leaving them barely any time to react or counterattack against this strange ability.

* * *

November felt his eyelids force themselves open after the rush of darkness had washed over his body. It took him a few moments to register the dull ache in his bones, his hands quivering as he forced himself onto his feet; but, he was by no means ready for what had been laid out before him.

It was his first home. It was the only house he would ever dare to call his home, as he recognized it from when he had still been with his wife. He could not even afford to speak her name, as he knew even the slightest thought could force him to his knees.

He walked forward, running his hand against the smooth wooden door, feeling the temptation to force it open slowly rise. Maybe if he opened the door he would see her again. Maybe everything would be how it was meant to be. Maybe.

But, he also knew better. His wife was dead, as badly as he wanted to reject that reality. He knew he would have to accept the truth sooner or later. His hand moved away from the wooden door, his legs carrying his body around the house instead, as if he were a machine. But he knew what was back there. He wanted to avoid this at all costs, so why did he keep moving?

November froze as hot bile rose from his guts and into his throat, his face a sickly pale as he cringed. He watched his wife's corpse float in their pool facedown, forcing him to his knees. He felt pain crack inside of them once they had met with the pavement below, as he knew that this was the truth. She was dead, and there was never a way to fix the past.

This was his reality.

* * *

Thomas awoke to the sound of distant gunfire and helicopters as they flew away, far into the clouds above him. He ran his hands into his pockets, his trusty revolver nowhere to be found. This would make things a hell of a lot harder on him, he was sure.

He pried his muscular frame off of the floor of the jungle, his blue eyes staring into the darkness of the thick forest. It smelt like death, as if dozens of corpses had been strewn about the land. This was a death trap, he knew that all too well.

Thomas stood still for a few moments and shut his eyes, attempting to listen for anything that might have been watching out for him. Military and survival tactics felt as if they were second nature to him. He was absolutely willing to kill to protect himself, if need be.

Thomas did not bother to drag his feet as he forced himself deeper into the jungle, the distant gunfire soon falling silent. He pressed his back behind a nearby tree, his blue eyes analyzing his surroundings – absolute silence.

His nose twitched as the stench of blooded slipped into his nostrils, sweat dripping down the side of his face as he managed to spot fresh blood coating the earth. His ears twitched as well, slowly peeking out from his temporary hideout to try and view what exactly had been happening.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Thomas screamed, seething rage pulsing through his bones as he saw a small body bag laid next to what appeared to be a wooden altar, a grown woman's body nailed to it though her slender frame had been covered by shadows. "Alice… ALICE!"

Thomas could feel saliva shooting out from his mouth as he screamed, begging God to allow him to take revenge on whoever had done this – he knew he would do whatever it would take to avenge them. But, he could feel himself slipping further into the void.

* * *

Yuina forced her eyelids open, her head feeling as if it was going to explode. Her legs felt unsteady, her eyesight fuddled as she attempted to focus on what was in front of her – except, she could only see four steel walls surrounding her.

She would have asked herself "where am I?" out loud if it were possible, but she could feel a cloth already wet from saliva tied around her mouth. She felt her heart beat harder, attempting to force herself to move – but she couldn't. Her feet had somehow been held down to the floor, her wrists bound as well.

Had she been kidnapped, or even worse, murdered? The presence of this place felt completely otherworldly to her, so maybe this was purgatory. Maybe this was her own personal hell, and she had done something terrible to deserve something as terrible as this.

Yuina flinched, a squeaking noise infiltrating her ear drums which nearly made her heart jump out from her chest. The creaking persisted, however, digging into her ears as her eyes shifted from left to right in an attempt to find the direct source.

She blinked, leaning forward slightly as the sound continued to bore itself into her ears. She felt fresh tears roll down her cheeks as she managed to see what had been hanging in front of her – it had been her brother's featureless corpse, directly facing her as it dangled from the ceiling.  
Her muffled screams could not be heard through her bindings, her tears staining her cheeks as she struggled to break free. Her efforts were worthless, and she knew this deep down, but something inside of her kept pushing her to snap out of what had been holding her back.

She wondered just how much longer she could continue without someone by her side.

* * *

Yamato sat quietly in his room, his knees shaking as unfamiliar shadows traversed his room. Was this another nightmare? It felt incredibly real, and he ran his hands down his shirt to realize that his Stand was nowhere to be found.

He was all alone with his thoughts, which was the most terrifying thing to him. He hated being alone, but he hated to think about why he did even more. No one was there to save him or shield him if some sort of monster or murderer had decided to come after him, and there would be nowhere to run and hide.

Worthless. Pathetic. Weakling. Loser.

He believed that he was all of these things and more, but there had been absolutely no reasoning behind this. He had never lost anyone in a tragic accident, or anything. He had never known his father, and his mother was always working away from home which had left him alone with his fears almost constantly.

His Stand, Lech, was the only reason he was able to ignore them at all. It was as if it put his emotions into a deep sleep, and he was unable to act on what he truly wanted; it was both a blessing and a curse to have. He could trade his fear for apathy. Really, who wouldn't want to do that? It would make life so much easier.

Yamato clutched his head tightly, unable to cry as the sheer terror coursing through his body paralyzed him. It had been like this for years, and as far as he had known, it would remain this way unless he kept his Stand close to him even if it made him feel inhuman.

* * *

Minato awoke only to see that he was sitting on a leather couch, the walls a bright white as the sun broke through the windows. He had known this place so many years ago; this was his father's house, there was no mistaking it.

But the house was dead silent. He could see the shape of his father's shoes in the dust that layered the floor, which was just further indication that he had disappeared and he would not be returning. He turned his head to see his sister's white dress draped across the rocking chair.

The silence was killing him, and he knew in his heart that he may end up utterly alone. Maybe that was why he tried to play it off like he was always in a happy go lucky mood, or why he was always rushing to protect the innocent. He wanted to feel important to someone.

Maybe that was why he had trusted Joji so much that he had placed his life in his hands. Even after he had attempted to murder him, he allowed him to continue living because he knew it was just a mistake. Admittedly, he felt jealous; why couldn't he have a golden heart like the one his friend was given at birth?

Life is unfair, that is why. He knew that better than most people, but he had wished that maybe, if there were a god out there, they would give him something to be proud of. Maybe they already had, and he had to just spend his life in search for that.

But, what kind of life would that even be? It would be a life of mediocrity and never knowing, as he would never know which direction to go if he had never been told. He sighed, closing his eyes as he attempted to slip away from this reality.

He just hoped that this was not all there was to life.

* * *

Joji stood in the middle of a sea of darkness, his half-violet and half-dark blue eyes scanning the area before him. The only sound he could hear was what he could tell was white noise in the distance, his body still in the vast nothingness.

"What the hell is going on?" Joji murmured to himself, attempting to take a step forward even though it had appeared he had not moved an inch. "Where am I? Is this hell? I had that Yoshikage Kagerou fucker right in front of me, damn it!"

He fell silent for a few moments, running his hands through his pompadour as he pressed his fingers to his temples. He had to think. Think, think, think! He needed an idea on what he needed to do to get out of here.

"How am I supposed to get the fuck out of here when I'm fucking scared shitless?!" Joji screamed, his Stand not coming to his aid when he had attempted to force it out of his soul. "Come on, think, Joji! This has to be a dream!"

Joji felt sweat cling to his skin, hopelessness stabbing at every corner of his heart as the thought of being stuck in this everlasting hell tormented his brain. This could not be the end for him, but he could feel a strange, comforting feeling wash over him as he spoke quietly.

"I hope dad is okay." Joji murmured, the image of his father's unconscious body stuck in his mind, but that soon turned to the rest of his friends. "They're probably fighting Alandria right now, and I can't even do a damn thing about it. Some friend I am, huh?"

Silence fell once more, the teenage boy straightening his back as he stared upward. Nothingness had reigned here, wherever here was. He was sure this must have been the work of some sort of enemy Stand, but he felt as if something was missing.

"It's trying to scare me, that's the entire point of this ability. It wants me to fuck off and never come back, because, maybe, Alandria herself is scared of me." Joji told himself, a strange thought occurring in his mind suddenly. "Me. Me, me, me. What the hell is with me, anyway? I don't even know who I am."

He felt his resolve rise out from his heart, his fists clenching as his light violet aura coated his body. He saw what appeared to be the figure of his Stand slip out from behind him, its body covered in a bright light as he continued to speak to himself.

"What I am… right now, it doesn't matter." Joji said. "I am who I am, I wasn't anybody before I became Joji Kujo. I'm a new person, I'm not what the past has made me out to be. Isn't that right, Philosopher King?"

Philosopher King's body soon became visible, though its appearance had some changes to it. It was still at its same height and build, though. Its eyes were a piercing bright blue, an enormous tail spreading out through its back, stretching out several feet. All of its armor had fallen, revealing its now bright pink skin. It had a large green emblem on its chest which resembled a heart, and it had wires stretching out from its shoulders and embedding themselves in its wrists. All around its body seemed to be kanji, indicating several different sound effects, which had stained the entirety of its large and muscular frame.

"DORA!" Philosopher King screamed, its knuckles pounding against the darkness as what appeared to be a bright light shine from them, the rapid blows unending as it cried out in absolute, unending fury. "DORARARARARARARARARARARA!"

 _Shing!_

The kanji for 'shine' flashed onto the darkness as light broke through the nothingness, the newly born Stand breaking through completely. Joji stared in awe before he shut his eyes, re-opening them to see that he had been standing near the Wall-Eyes.

He looked over to see that all of his friends had been laid out across the cold earth, fog surrounding them as he turned towards the Wall-Eyes, seeing that the darkness that had been emitting from Art of Anesthesia's gaping maw had started to slip back inside of it.

"So, that's what was going on." Joji said, his newly upgraded Philosopher King standing by his side as he looked away from the Stand, only to see a shocked Yoshikage Kagerou and an exhausted Alandria Megumi. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. You better hope that you didn't lay a single fucking hand on my friends, you bastards."

"He's right." Yoshikage Kagerou wiped sweat from his brow, scowling as he turned to Alandria. "What was your idea in the first place?! We could have killed him, but you wanted to torture them!"

"I'm not as thirsty for death as you might be. These pigs deserved to suffer for bringing more suffering my way." Alandria argued, turning to see Yoshikage before she grasped his hand. "We have no time to argue, though. It's time."

Yoshikage Kagerou could barely speak as his heart fluttered with elation, his fingers locking with the ghostly woman. He turned to Joji and grinned widely, chuckling before breaking out into laughter, tears of joy running down his face as an intense, bright light covered the both of them.

"What the fuck?!" Joji shouted, attempting to rush towards them before a massive gust of wind flew from their glowing bodies, pushing him back a few feet. He held his arm above his forehead, trying to look deeper into what exactly was unfolding. "Is this a Stand ability?! I can't even tell what's going on!"

In a mixture of light and wind, their two frames had started to mix together as their now singular body lifted up into the air. The body stretched out, their features obviously changing as they stood above the ground, the glow eventually fading.

The figure stood at six feet and six inches tall, their body feminine and lean. Their eyes had a grey iris, being rather cat-like in shape, which also had thick eye liner around them. Their nose was also somewhat stubby. Their face had high cheekbones, their torso and shoulders broad, which managed to match with their muscular arms. Their hands appeared to be rather soft, with painted crimson fingernails extending from them. Their hips appeared to be rather feminine and wide as well.

Their hair was a smoky brown color, tied into a wide ponytail that hung low. They also had long bangs on each side of their head. This new being wore a black crop top with a thin dark blue blazer, their sleeves dangling at the end of their hands like a robe, and the back of the blazer stretched down to their knees like a cape.

There appeared to be intricate, curvy green patterns moving throughout the sleeves, the mid-back, and the shoulders which appeared to form a gate. They also wore light pink dress pants which covered a majority of their lower half, though their shins were visible. Finally, they wore a pair of crimson shoes.

They looked towards Joji Kujo, the world shaking beneath them as their feet slowly made contact with the world beneath them. They sighed, a white aura erupting around their lean frame, their face almost expressionless as their lips parted.

"It is time." 

* * *

**Name: Joji Kujo  
** **Age: 16  
** **Stand: Philosopher King (Act 3)  
Stand statistics**  
 **Destructive Power: A**  
 **Speed: A**  
 **Durability: B**  
 **Precision: A**  
 **Range: D**  
 **Development Potential: A**


	13. Euphoria

"This body…" The newly born figure stated, pressing their index finger to their lips as they ran their free hand over their rather tall frame. "This will do. Ah, yes, I suppose I need a name, as well."

Joji Kujo stared at what had unfolded before his eyes, his mind having trouble processing the events that had led up to this moment. He had remembered watching Alandria Megumi and Yoshikage Kagerou clutching each other's hands, but then they appeared to conjoin. This had to be the ability of Alandria's Stand, he knew it.

"Hm. As for my name, I think it shall be… Issho Kage." Issho Kage said, rubbing their chin before their gaze snuck towards the bewildered Joji. "What is the matter, child? What is leaving you so amazed that you can't speak?"

"What did you do? Was that a Stand ability?!" Joji demanded, his light violet aura spiking as his caution rose as well. "I don't know what's going on exactly, but you better pray that you didn't touch my friends!"

"And what if I plan to do so, human?" Issho asked, their arms drooping to each side of their frame as they slowly walked forward. "You know just as well as I do what the Wall-Eyes can do. I knew what they did for you, they could do for me… before I was born, Alandria had enlisted Yoshikage to hunt those who did not follow the will of the Wall-Eyes, as they bestowed Stands to the public, to those who were worthy. You, as Josuke, had made a deal with them but you never thought to return the favor. You are a nuisance, as are the rest of the filth within Morioh. So, it is my duty to punish the wicked."

"The will of the Wall-eyes? That makes no goddamn sense to me…" Joji murmured, one of his eyes moving to see that all of his friends had still been unconscious, but he had noticed something odd; Thomas was missing. "Huh? Where did he go?"

"Perhaps, you should focus on what is happening here, human child." Issho said calmly and smoothly, their voice almost like honey. "For now, you are my only target, so you should be wary. If you are truly as angry as you sound, then let us begin."

"Come on, then!" Joji shouted as he charged forward, his Philosopher King's fist extending as it attempted to land a hard blow on Issho's face, which remained visually unchanging. "DORA!"

"Citizen Zero." Issho stated softly, a disconnected fist meeting with Philosopher King's, promptly stopping it in its track – though it had appeared that the fist could not move either. "It appears that our Stands are equal in physical strength. Interesting."

Citizen Zero completely manifested, revealing its lean figure to Joji. It had been seven feet tall, its head featureless aside from the concave holes on the left and right side of it. Its head's coloration was a rainbow color, which twisted around the rest of its body. Its hands had floated a few inches away from its arms, its fingers missing their tips, only having sloped ends.

"DORA!" Philosopher King shouted as its other fist rocketed towards Citizen Zero's abdomen, only to lock with its knuckles once more; the rainbow colored Stand suddenly jumped upward and disconnected the stalemate, its foot meeting with the muscular Philosopher King's chest, the force of the blow knocking it and its user backwards several feet.

"That test went rather well. Shall we go for another round, child?" Issho asked, stepping forward as Joji strained to catch his breath, which had been utterly knocked out of him with that single kick. "You aren't terribly injured. Your Stand's durability must be nothing to laugh at, then."

 _This asshole is just analyzing everything that's happening… they probably already know my Philosopher King's ability, since Yoshikage Kagerou had witnessed what Act Three could do. But, I still have an idea of what Act Four can do._ Joji thought to himself, his gaze shifting towards his fallen comrades for only a moment. _I need to get away from my friends, though, before they get caught in the crossfire!_

Joji did not utter a single word before darting away from Issho, his dark eyes aiming for the forest that he and Yoshikage Kagerou had been battling in just minutes ago. He did not even bother to look behind him as he dashed into the lush forest, immediately finding a thick tree to hide behind.

Issho had arrived only a few seconds later, not appearing to be winded as they traversed the forest floor. He appeared to be clueless as to Joji's whereabouts, who had only been hiding near a tree that was only a few meters away.

"Child, if you do not show yourself, I will merely have to destroy this forest. I am not bluffing." Issho said firmly, their Citizen Zero pressing its palm onto a nearby tree. "I'll count to three, you have until then to come out and face me."

 _Think, think, think! You don't know what their Stand can do, but you shouldn't even risk it. You need to come up with a plan and distract them, then attack them when they aren't even looking!_ Joji thought to himself, sweat dripping down his spine. _Damn it, I might just have to risk it… it could give me an opening!_

"I warned you." Issho sighed, a great force exiting out from Citizen Zero's palm; the tree that it had touched suddenly bent, cracking in half as it caved in on itself, tumbling over towards another tree as it did so, the force from the impact still carrying over. "My Citizen Zero's power is that it can implode anything it touches. Your efforts to defeat me will be ultimately fruitless, so come out, and face your demise."

Joji only watched in awe as the sheer force of the blast cracked apart several of the trees in Issho's path, an enormous clearing being forged out from the mass destruction that had ensued. Issho turned around, making their way towards another set of trees.

 _I couldn't even focus... they can make things implode just by touching them? So, it's like Yoshikage Kagerou's ability then, but the force is way more directed, and not a frenzy like his bombs were._ Joji thought, rubbing his chin. _He did have to touch it, too… it doesn't seem like his Stand has much range, either. I just need to work my magic, and I can get out of this safely._

Philosopher King struck the ground a few times before backing up against the tree as well, kanji forming onto the forest floor as Joji stared at Issho, who was still making their way to their next target. Joji smirked, ready to put his new ability to the test.

 _Vroom._

Out of thin air, an average sized car appeared, its engine roaring loudly. The vehicle bolted towards Issho, who turned around to see it rushing towards them – and they would have counter attacked, but it was far too late when it had finally reached them.

The vehicle crashed against their lean frame, their bones and spine cracking from the impact as their body was flung across the ground; the vehicle passed over them, its tires digging into their muscles before moving away from their now shattered body.

"Did I get 'em?" Joji asked himself, stepping out from his hideout to take a closer look at the body. Issho had started to twitch violently, their spine effectively out of place as blood pooled beneath them. "Hell yeah, I got you, you piece of dog shit!"

Issho grunted as their body slowly sat up, withholding a scream as their bones appeared to reform in their shattered arms; their spine had started to reform and realign as well, the blood slipping back into their body as they stood back up, as if nothing had ever happened.

"Quite a versatile ability you have there, child." Issho murmured, stretching out their arms as they became usable once more. "It seems I have neglected to tell you something, however. I am still unable to be killed, as I am a spirit. That is what I meant when I said your struggle to put an end to me is fruitless; try as you might, it is simply impossible to destroy what has already been destroyed."

"Everything has a weakness, and you're not an exception to that rule." Joji said without a doubt, his Stand's fists clenching even tighter. "I'll just have to keep shattering your body until you give up. How does that sound?"

"Fleeing or giving in is simply not an option for me, human." Issho said, his intense white aura overflowing from his body and onto the earth. "Now, let us return to the battle at hand. I am eager to finish what we started."

Citizen Zero's hands attempted to grab a hold of Joji's throat, only for the teenage boy to jump backward as his Philosopher King's tail shot forward, the sharp end of it cutting straight through Issho's neck smoothly.

"Take that, you damn bastard!" Joji yelled as Philosopher King's pulled out from Issho's throat, allowing its user to quickly dart away from the scene to try and find a new hiding place while his enemy recovered from the sudden strike. "I gotta get the fuck out of the way before they manage to land a solid hit!"

Joji had managed to move quite the distance before he jumped upward, his Stand grabbing onto a tree branch as he pulled himself up. He latched onto it, jumping to another one so he could hide himself within it and attempt to keep an eye on Issho's movements.

Issho pulled themselves out from the dirt, rubbing where their neck wound once was; they shrugged and stepped further into the forest, a look of what appeared to be irritation stuck on their face.

"It appears that this human likes to sneak around, and strike when I am least expecting it. I suppose I will do what I must, then." Issho stated, bending downward as Citizen Zero pressed its palm onto the forest floor. "I will completely destroy this place, just to find you, Joji Kujo. Do not underestimate what you cannot comprehend."

"Holy shit, this is bad." Joji's eyes widened, knowing that Issho appeared to keep their word when it came to threats, especially after their showcase of power. "I have to jump down and strike before they manage to eviscerate the entire fucking forest!"

Joji jumped onto the branch below him, his Stand landing a solid hit on it to form the word _boing_ in kanji upon it; from there appeared to be a rather large spring, which the teenage boy had pressed his feet on before launching himself towards Issho.

"I have you right where I want you." Issho licked their lips, their Citizen Zero's fist suddenly shooting up to meet with Joji's left arm – though, they had not expected Joji's other fist to make contact with their jaw. "Guh!"

Joji felt an almost indescribable pain ring throughout the bones in his left arm, the force of the blow sending him flying backwards, his face raking against the dirt as he coughed violently; he attempted to force himself back up onto his feet, but he had noticed that he was unable to feel anything in his left arm that was not a nagging, cracking pain.

"Goddamn it…" Joji cringed as he forced himself up with his only usable arm, panting heavily as he felt blood slide down his face, indicating that he had cut his head after sliding across the earth. "They only hit me once, but my arm… damn it all to hell, can I even faze this fucker?!"

"If it's any consolation, that hurt quite a bit." Issho frowned, crossing their arms. "You would have broken my neck if I did not have the ability to regenerate. I can see that is proving to be quite troublesome for you, am I correct?"

"Go fuck yourself." Joji grunted, his confidence slowly giving way to new thoughts of hopelessness. "I'm not giving up… even if you are a new person, you killed so many people before today. I won't let that go unanswered!"

"How foolish. They merely had an early taste of the judgment that would have been brought to them anyways, so where is the point in being angry?" Issho asked, as if they had been genuinely confused by Joji's act of frustration. "This world had quite the lifespan, but now it shall be snuffed out. All I have to do is make it perfectly clear to you that none can rival justice."

"You call this shit justice?! You wouldn't know justice if it was two feet in front of your face, asshole!" Joji shouted, his light violet aura growing. "You're not even a person, you're a goddamn monster!"

"I had expected you would call me such a thing, but, what you believe has no meaning to me. Shall we get this over with?" Issho rose their eyebrow, pressing their hand onto the forest floor before smirking. "I want you to try and dodge this; if you do not, you will most certainly die or lose the ability to move your legs."

"Damn it, I'm too far away!" Joji shouted as a ripple of force bore into the dirt, the teenager jumping high into the air as the impact closed in on him, a fraction of it crawling up into his leg. "Fuck!"

Joji felt the inside of his left leg shatter as the trees around him toppled over one another, mere seconds passing as the implosion in the earth had nearly wiped out the entirety of the forest their battle had been taking place within.

"Now, you have nowhere to hide. Have you given up yet, child?" Issho stepped forward, dark clouds gathering overhead as they stepped toward the teenage boy who had landed, his left leg completely broken and useless. "You've suffered the loss of one of your arms, and even the loss of one of your legs. You are finished, are you not?"

"Not a chance in hell!" Joji shouted almost instantly, which had made Issho's feline eyes widen in shock; this boy's stubbornness simply had no boundaries it seemed. "The minute you get close to me, I'm going to beat your ass with one hand!"

"If you will not concede, I will simply have to convince you that your efforts are not worth the pain that is going to be brought down upon you." Issho said, extending one of their hands towards Joji's only active arm. "It will be a lesson, child."

Joji could only attempt to crawl away, but he felt his confidence draining with every step that Issho took. He had to think as hard as he could, and try to think of a way to somehow take them by surprise; but, maybe it was just impossible.

Before Issho could make another step, six bullets entered into the back of their skull which had forced them to slump over; Joji instantly turned to see that Thomas had been standing several feet away from them, a small smirk on their face.

"I don't know what the fuck happened exactly, but I'll be damned if I let a kid die on my watch." Thomas frowned, running forward and kicking Issho in the mouth before moving further away. "Piece of shit, putting me through that living hell… you better stay down, unless you want me to fill you with lead again."

"Thomas! How come you aren't hurt, and why didn't you come to help me sooner?!" Joji asked, half-angry and half-relieved to see that his new comrade had been doing rather well. "Can you pick me up before they get back up? My left leg and my left arm are both shattered."

"Yeah, sure." Thomas said and hurried over to Joji, throwing one of his arms over his shoulders before scooting away from Issho's slowly recovering body. "First of all, I'm experienced with how wars work, kid. I managed to jump out of the way before the impact hit me, but it sure scared the shit out of me; and I didn't help you sooner, because I was trying to find an opening to take that fucker by surprise."

"I guess I would have done the same thing." Joji said, trying to set the pain in his body into the back of his head while he spoke. "But, I need you to get away from here, because the likelihood that you're going to be able to dodge another attack from them is low. I know what to do, but I'm only going to have one shot at this. Do you trust me, Thomas?"

"I just met you, so I probably shouldn't." Thomas said, slowly setting Joji back onto the clearing as rain started to fall in a light drizzle. "But, I want to see how this plays out, so, sure. You got my trust right now, Joji."

"Thanks." Joji said, embedding his Philosopher King's fist into the soil beneath him for a moment. "They're gonna get back up at any moment, so get out of here."

"Will do." Thomas nodded, quickly sprinting out of the way as Issho's body twitched, the six bullets embedded in his skull soon returning to the man's trusty revolver. "It was nice to meet you and all, but I gotta go!"

"You know that you need assistance, and yet, you asked him to trust you to do this yourself." Issho mumbled. "Out of all of the humans that I have met, you are the most bizarre. Do you still truly believe you can defeat the dead?"

"You're damn right I do, and you know what?" Joji asked, grinning as he scooted himself forward, his light purple aura shining brightly. "I'm going to make you wish you never challenged me, Issho Kage. This world doesn't need a virus like you."

"I am a virus, now?" Issho asked, tilting their head. "I cannot understand you, child. You are laying before me with your limbs broken, and yet you speak as if you hold power over me. Explain."

"You're a fool, underestimating what I can do, especially after what's happened today." Joji smirked, the kanji underneath his foot glowing. "You should know something, Issho Kage… a broken body does not mean I have a broken spirit!"

Issho's grey eyes widened in shock as Joji launched forward, his Philosopher King's right fist smashing right through the immortal's gut but that did not appear to be the end of it as kanji formed inside of their guts.

 _Whoosh._

Issho felt blood fall from their maw and onto the wet earth beneath them, their eyes shaking and their body quivering as they saw a rocket form inside of their reforming body, the engine pushing them forward before bolting forward.

They had absolutely no control over where they were going, but they could turn their head to see that they had been pushed out of the clearing and into a more familiar place; the Wall-eye from which they had been rooted into.

Issho's back had broken from the impact, debris flying and embedding itself into their body as the rock wall completely shattered into thousands of pieces; this made Issho scream out in horror as the Wall-eye completely shattered.

Joji crawled forward, panting heavily as Issho – and their injury did not fade away this time around, though their eyes were still wide and bloodshot. He would have stepped closer, but he could now see that Issho had been staring at him.

"What… what have you done to me?!" Issho screamed as they pulled themselves from the rubble, sand streaming from their eye sockets as they clawed at their face and their body, desperate to keep themselves together; their eyes had eventually become hollow, their entire body falling apart like a sandcastle, bit by bit. "ADHERE TO JUSTICE, JOJI KUJO!"

Joji merely watched as Issho faded away into nothing, soon falling flat on his back as the rain splashed against his bruised and bloodied face. He wanted to laugh so badly, but he could only let sleep take him as victory resonated within his soul.

* * *

Joji slowly opened his eyes to see a bright light blurring his view, though he was able to see several figures standing by his bed; he was in a hospital room, that much he could tell. He could start to make out their voices before his eyesight eventually focused, his head turning to see that Jomei Kujo had been standing right by his side, with his friends surrounding him as well.

"I got you here after you nailed Issho, you passed out from the pain." Thomas said, though he could not hide his dumbfounded smile. "You were right, they did have a weakness. I'm surprised you managed to form that plan or even remember it, with all the pain you were going through at the time."

"I still kind of am." Joji looked down to see his left leg in a cast, and saw that his left arm had received the same treatment. "Ugh, I'm gonna be stuck in a hospital for days on end, again… well, I guess it's worth it."

"You made Jovanni proud, I'm sure of that." November said, a small smirk plastered onto his wrinkled face. "What Alandria put me through, in that living hell… I'm just glad she's gone for good."

"Yeah, I'd rather not go through that shit again." Minato stated. "Now that it's finally over, though… what are we supposed to do?"

"I guess we go back to being normal kids." Yuina replied, somewhat disappointed with the ultimate outcome. "I know that it's a good thing that we won, but… it feels really weird. We spent so long trying to help out this town, but we have to go back to being normal students again. I don't have a problem with that, it just doesn't feel the same as it used to."

"But we know we can do something if someone like Yoshikage Kagerou or Alandria ever show up again, though." Yamato interjected, earning a nod from his comrades. "But, there's something we never figured out. Why did the Wall-Eyes suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

"I haven't been able to deduce that myself." Jomei said, running a single hand through his hair as he sighed. "I think we were never meant to know some things. I could always do some research, but I doubt anything would come up."

"That's a shame." November frowned, extending his hand to Joji's only functional arm. "This is a little sudden, but I have to head back home, soon. I have a funeral to attend, and a few people to disappoint."

"Yeah, I understand." Joji said softly, shaking November's hand firmly. "I just want to know something, though, November. Do you regret any of the time you've spent here?"

"I don't regret a thing, Joji Kujo." November smiled warmly, the foreign feeling of happiness clinging to his heart for a few fleeting moments. "It was a treacherous journey, and I lost someone who was very dear to me, but… I don't regret it, because I know he wouldn't, either. You're a shining example of what Jovanni stood for, so never let anyone take that away from you. Do you hear me?"

"Yeah, I hear you." Joji replied, letting go of November's hand as Thomas stepped forward, shaking his hand firmly as well. "It was really cool to work with you both. Make sure you visit us again sometime, yeah?"

"If I ever find the time, yeah… man, my wife is gonna kill me if she finds out what happened here." Thomas joked, laughing as he let go of the teenage boy's hand. "I wrote down my number and put it in your pocket, just in case; whenever you need help, we'll both come running to you."

"I appreciate it." Joji said, waving goodbye as the two men slowly left the hospital room, leaving him alone with his friends. "So, uh, dad. How are you gonna tell mom that I'm in the hospital?"

"I already told her. I said you got hit by a car, but you didn't get hurt too badly." Jomei shrugged, smirking all the way. "Probably a little shaky, but it works; besides, you look like you got hit by a truck, so it was the best idea I had."

"Fucker hit like a truck, so you aren't totally wrong." Joji chuckled. "Are you guys gonna go home, or something?"

"We want to stay here by your side, until we actually have to go home." Yamato said, taking a seat next to the injured Joji. "You would have done the same for us, after all. Am I wrong?"

"You're not wrong, but…" Joji grumbled. "Not like I can tell you what to do, in the first place. Just don't blame me if you get bored or something."

Time had passed excruciatingly slowly for the injured Joji, watching as his friends had to leave one by one – well, everyone except for Minato Nijimura and his own father, who had stood their ground despite Joji begging for them to get rest.

"Hey, Joji." Minato murmured, the light from the hospital hallway seeping into the dark room. "I just, uh… I just wanted to say thank you, for not… well, you know, for not outright killing me when we first met. I don't think I ever really said sorry."

"It's okay, Minato." Joji replied, a small smile spreading across his tired face as exhaustion buried itself into his weary bones. "It's all in the past, so it doesn't really matter now, right? I forgave you a long time ago."

Minato felt as if tears were going to stream out from his face as if he were a child, so he simply hid his face and laughed, though he was almost certain that Joji could see through his façade; though, he did not say anything.

"Haha, yeah, of course! Thanks, man." Minato laughed, earning a nod from Joji. "I should probably head home and get some sleep, though… you have a good night, okay, Joji?"

"Yeah, you too." Joji waved goodbye to him as he shut the door, leaving him with just his father now. "So, uh, are you pissed off at me for getting involved with this?"

"As a father, I should be… but if it weren't for you, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be breathing right now." Jomei sighed, extending his hand so he could ruffle his son's hair. "Your friends did a damn good job, too, but you're something else, son. I'm proud of you."

"Huh?" Joji blinked, surprised by his father's words – but he did not argue, he only nodded in acceptance. "Ha, yeah… thanks dad."

* * *

Several hours had passed before November and Thomas had arrived back in Miami, their heads hung low despite the victory within their hearts; the latter had decided to visit his wife, delivering the news of his friend's passing.

"Yeah, he was… a really good guy." Thomas muttered, tears slipping out from his eyes as he pressed one of his hands to his face, a heavy sigh following. "What an idiot, you know? He was always such a dumbass, acting all happy and like he didn't have a single care in the world… that's how I hope our daughter can grow up, happy and without worrying about the terrible things this world has hiding inside of it."

"Honey, you know better than anyone else, that we can raise her to be the happiest girl in the world." Alice said, running her fingers through her husband's hair gently. "And, you also know better than most, that death is just a part of life. Life is only beautiful and valuable because it can fade away… and I think Jovanni realized it was his time to go, maybe his guardian angel tapped him on the shoulder. Something like that."

"Yeah, I know, you're right. You're completely right." Thomas nodded in agreement, rubbing his now red eyes. "Shit, I'm sorry you have to see me like this, Alice. I should probably start getting ready for the… you know."

"It's alright, it's what I'm here for, darling." Alice planted a soft kiss on his cheek, her arms slipping away from him as they both stood. "I'll stay here with our baby, and you can go on ahead. I pray that everything will go well."

"Thanks." Thomas nodded, slipping his arms around his wife so he could give her a goodbye hug. "I love you."

Alice smiled brightly. "I love you, too."

* * *

The funeral was as normal as anyone could expect, though November could feel the pain set in once he saw that Jovanni's friends had gathered around his grave, which had brightly colored flowers on top of it and planted beside it.

"You idiot." Dalimil shook his head, a single tear running down his old and tired face as he shook, his left hand shaking as he leaned on his cane. "I should have known you couldn't have gone out in any other way… you're a damn brave soul, JoJo."

"Jovanni…" Joanne sobbed, her fists clenched as she nearly fell in front of the man's grave. "Damn it, you were supposed to come back, you promised. Life is just full of shit we never expect, huh? I don't think I'm ever going to be able to forget you."

"You were the inspiration I had to be a better person, to try and live by my own justice." Walker murmured, his hands visibly shaking as he spoke, which matched his voice as it quaked. "Wherever, you better not forget about us. If you do, I'll kick your ass."

"The man who did this to him isn't breathing anymore, so we never have to worry about him hurting anyone ever again." Thomas said, bowing his head to Jovanni's grave. "That kid you met in Morioh did what we couldn't do, Jovanni. He was only sixteen years old… ha, I guess we are getting a little old."

"I think I'm going to go." November said, feeling as if he were to burst into tears if he had somehow said too much. "I don't know where I'm going, but it'll be fine. So, uh… see you later, Jovanni. I'll talk to you later."

Jovanni's friends only watched as November stepped away from the cemetery, eventually driving away and disappearing into the distance. He did not even bother to turn around, but they could all feel an empty space where November had left.

No one spoke another word as they departed, their hearts each carrying them into separate directions. But, even though the core of their friendship had been missing, they had known what they had fought for together would never die.

* * *

Joji, Minato, Yuina, and Yamato sat upon the rooftop of their school, the sun shining brightly upon them, the bright blue sky practically mesmerizing as they stared up into it. It had been a week since Joji had left the hospital, and he could start to attend school regularly once more.

"It's gorgeous!" Yuina laughed, staring into the sky as she lay flat on her back, a large smile plastered onto her face. "If it's this beautiful during Summer break all the time, I can't wait!"

"It is really breathtaking." Yamato said, a small smile creeping up on his face as his hand spread down to his chest – his Lech had not been active, as it had been placed in his pocket, instead. "It feels so peaceful, feeling the breeze on my face."

Minato yawned, feeling as if he was going to fall into a deep sleep at any given moment. "I could spend the rest of my life up here, you know? I could just eat, talk to you guys, sleep, and repeat. That would be fucking awesome."

Joji Kujo stood up, staring into the sky as he rested his hands on his hips, feeling as if he had a set of protective eyes on him the entire time; he had not lost anything, as far as he was concerned. He had everything he would ever need.

"Yeah. It's a good day to be alive, right, Jovanni?"

 **The End.  
**

* * *

 **Author's Note**

 **Whoa, writing this was a rush after doing it non stop for an entire day. I know I could go on about the whole generic spiel about having a lot of fun while writing it, but that part is pretty obvious by how hard I tried to make this better than A Good Man's Gospel. To be honest, this is the second story in a trilogy. I'm going to be taking a two week break, though. I can only take so much JJBA. With all of that being said, I hope everyone read this enjoyed it, and even if you didn't love it or like it, thanks for reading, anyway. Your opinion is as valid as anyone else's, but if you want to let me know what I could have done better or how I could improve in future stories, please either leave a review or send me a message. It would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Until next time!**


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